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From burlesque to fetish artists, Club Noir caters for every Valentine’s ~- Day taste
Around Town
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THE BEST EVENTS, TALKS AND SPORT
* Chinese New Year Celebration Celebrate the year of the Rooster in the gorgeous surroundings of the Burrell Collection, with an address from Jack the Mac. Chinese music. a lion dance. yummy dim sum and a traditional Chinese wishing tree. Burrell Collection, Glasgow. Tue 8 Feb.
* Valentine’s Fire and Ice Masquerade Get all glammed up and enjoy entertainment such as fire eaters and tunes from Sally F. plus mini speed dating. Wear a mask to get truly into the spirit of things. And other clothes. obviously. Caves. Edinburgh, Fri 71 Feb.
* Domestic Bliss The folks from Club Noir present a saucy Valentine's extravaganza. with burlesque acts. striptease. fetish artists. vaudeville and cigarette girls. Ooh la la! Carling Academy. Glasgow Sat 12 Feb.
* Scotland v Ireland The big Irish fellows come to Murrayfield to give the home side Celts a good thrashing, or maybe not. Either way it's always nice to watch grown men writhing around in the mud isn’t it? Murrayfield. Edinburgh, Sat 12 Feb. * A Sense of Place Writers Jackie Kay, James Robertson and Ali Smith come together to discuss the influence characters in Scottish literature have on the wider perceptions of Scotland, and how far writers consciously seek to shape a particular view. Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, Wed 16 Feb.
Q ‘ ‘
Love is a cabaret
If you thought Valentine’s Day was all about hearts and flowers, Glasgow’s CITY OF LOVE festival has got a few surprises up its sleeve. Rachael Street takes a peek.
me it or loathe it. Valentine‘s l)a_\ l\ \er} hard to ignore. l'rom the \llLlLlL‘ll proliferation of red and pink items in ever} shop ton enter. to the \rnug girls carrying gigantic bunches ol’ l‘lotterx and men bigger grins. there's no escape. But “but it" )ou haxc no real interext in celebrating \xhat has become a hugcl} commercial allair. \thether )ou'rc part iii a couple or
not‘.’ Doesn’t it make a textival like (ilaxgott'x ('it} ol
l.o\‘e irrelevant to anyone but the moxt lined up pair‘x'.’ Well. not necessarily. The ten tla) celebration ol St Valentine. \x’hoxc bones are said to ha\e been kept sale in the city l'or o\cr 130 _\ear\. aims to go bc_\ond pure romance to look at tllllL‘l'CllI \\a_\\ ol‘ \hou ing |o\c.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the lltcltlsloll ol‘ ('lub .\'oir'\ Domestic Bliss burlesque night. ‘\'alentine\ l)a_\ can be so tuec. \xe \HllllL‘tl to inject a bit ol‘ humour into it.‘ explainx 'l‘ina \Varren. organiser ol‘ the night. 'lt'x all about getting in touch \\llll _\our alter ego and e\pre.\,\ing _\our\ell.' llar'king back to cabaret clubs ol‘ more innocent and glainor‘otix timex. (‘lub .\'oir llll\C\ up \c\_\ retro and electronic tunes Will] a lull burlesque \hou and plent} ol' l'un e\tra\ such as cigarette girl\ and a unise\ bcaut} parlour. While the main attractions \till he l‘etixh and \trip al’llslx \llc‘ll as (Mike Bitch and .\li\\ 'l‘reat. Warren is keen to emphasise that it's more about 'teaxe than slea/e. liwrybod§ has tlil‘l‘crent l‘eelings about loxe and Valentine's l)a_\. so at (’lub \oir there is something l‘or everyone.‘
For the romantic \tltll\. there ix no shortage ot'
smooch-north} e\ent.\ on ot‘t‘er. including slush) tunes
l'roni .lo Mango. ('trur/r/um'u courtcx) ol' the (ilaxgotx \Vorltl l’ilm l‘t‘xllHll Lllltl c\cn lic‘;ii't—\ll;ipctl [ll//;t\ at l'ircbirtl. But there are alxo other “a.” to share the hue. l'nlikcl} as it ma} \(llllltl. _\ou can help \ lL'lllll\ ol the llo\ing l)a_\ 'l‘xunami b} going \pL‘Ctl dating at Brel or raise rnonc} lor Sense Scotland b} attending the cclcbr'it} laxllion \hrm at ()ran .\lor. .-\ml with charit} co\crctl. thmc looking tor a little l‘aith or hope can try the discussion on low. Romance (K; l'aith' at St .\lungo\ .\lu\euni to lintl out more about the ll'illl\CL‘lltlL‘lllill \ltlL‘ ol adoration.
-\t the helm ol the textual once more l\ organiser .\'cil Bauer. \klltl came up \\llll the idea lor the lirxt l'cxti\al in Illill alter hearing about the remains ol~ St Valentine l‘roni a lrientl. ‘l-.\cn nou people (lon't bclic\c that ll'x true. \o it \\1l\ jtlxl too gootl an oppril‘ltlllll} to pthx up.’ he \il_\\. And it couldn't be more appropriate to celebrate line and romance in (ilthgrru. which has a \tell-carnctl reputation l'or being such an extraordinaril} harm and trientll} place.‘ With [llttlh aloot to e\pand the l'extixal next }ear and bring in some “mild L‘ltt\\ acts to attract the attention ol o\cr\ca\ \lxlltll‘\. the \cnture \ll()\k\ no signs ol' \louing don n. "l'hix lx not about narrou definitions ol' lo\c — \Kc‘lc‘ looking at it as the ubiquitoUs theme in art. literature and nuixic. When _\'otl think about it that \ta}. there are llitlllxal‘ltlx oi things that can be lllc‘ltltlctl.'
City of Love, Glasgow, Wed 9 Feb-Sat 19 Feb. See www.cityoflove.co.uk for more details.
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