Mad Men, Burlesque, Bohemia and Countryside

Don’t ever let anyone tell you there’s nothing to do in Norwich.

Monday morning has come around again after a hugely busy and fun packed weekend! I’m sure that these posts are a lot like someone forcing you to look through all of their holiday photos, but in my head I am convincing myself that should you ever take a trip to Norwich, or if you already live here, maybe you’ll find some exciting places to go and things to do. This is probably not the case and you are already thinking “yawn, why do I care what Retro Chick did this weekend?” but I’m going to show you anyway. So buckle in for photos of cocktails and burlesque!

On Friday night I was invited along to a Mad Men themed event at a local bar called Bar 52. We were treated to a “Mad Men” cocktail, containing a lot of Blue Curaçao and some deliciously retro canapes like devilled eggs and little spots of pâté on crackers.

I had a total lighting fail attempting to get outfit photos upstairs, so I fell back on a bathroom selfie. I love this Bettie Page dress I bought in Las Vegas teamed with a skinny gold charity shop belt. It looks even better with sky high gold stilettos, but it’ll be a while before my ankle is up to them! I only wore these small heels to walk around the bar and felt a bit nervous!

With beehived ladies and men in suits and the glamorous ambience of Bar 52, which is all purple walls, gold mirrors, booths and elegant high tables I did feel a little like I was wandering around the sort of glamorous bar that Don Draper might frequent, except without the casual sexism and with less whisky (shame)

Other glamorous entertainments were provided by the presence of a make up artist to perfect your 60s flicks, and a performance by burlesque artist Skylar Fox.

As if that wasn’t quite enough glamour for one weekend, on Saturday night I had been invited along to the opening night of new cabaret members club Bohemia. I had VIP access, no less!

At 7:30 we were escorted into a dining room for dinner. I confess I was expecting a hot meal, but dinner was actually a selection of meat, bread and cheese on a tiered platter, with a little raspberry tart for dessert. It was delicious and filling, but not what I was expecting! Most people at our table didn’t manage to clear their plates, but like the hero I am, I did. I even polished off Mr Chicks cheese as he’s not a Stilton fan, and that, my friends, is the reason I have a lot of shapewear in my lingerie drawer.

There were also a few acts after the meal, who made good space of the room and used the space around the tables to perform.

The venue for Bohemia was the Norwich Masonic Lodge, and while it was beautiful, it did mean that the Temple room in which the show was staged didn’t allow alcohol and we had to leave our drinks outside the door. This might not sound like a huge issue, but it mean that the hangover from 3 glasses of wine had started to kick in by the end of the first half and I was lucky not to fall asleep in my chair before the show ended! I also wore tights and boots, and wrapped my compression bandage too tightly round my ankle, so I spent much of the first half subtly trying to loosen it, failing, and making it progressively tighter and tighter until I could escape to the bathroom and remove it before my whole foot turned purple and fell off.

Just a little insight into what a hopeless idiot I am for you there.

Bohemia was hosted by the amazing and gloriously camp Reuben Kaye and we were treated to burlesque performances from MiMi Amore, Madame Monstera and Lola Loveboat as well as a touch of variety and cabaret such as operatic arias (more opera, see, I’m totally an opera buff) from Emma Nuule and vocal percussionist Lee Gibling.

Tickets for this were £40 for the dinner & a show, or £60 for a VIP option which included access to an exclusive cocktail lounge, a hostess to meet you on arrival, priority seating and champagne. I’ll be honest, if I went along again I would opt for the standard option and buy myself a glass of champagne, as I’m not sure the extra £20 warranted being able to pick my seat first and I couldn’t locate a special cocktail lounge or a cocktail menu at all!

This is intended to be a monthly event, and for a first event the evening was pretty special. If future shows live up to this one, and the few teething issues with timings (and I WANT WINE WITH MY SHOW!) are sorted I think this could be a very special night out to add to the Norwich calendar.

And on Sunday? Well, this is the reason I love living in Norwich so much. Friday and Saturday night were all the glamour, glitz, fizzy wine and cocktails I could handle. So on Sunday I did this.

A long country walk along the Wherrymans way, which ended, as we were about to turn back and return to the car, with us rounding the corner and unexpectedly finding a pub, and not just any pub. A shiny posh waterside pub with Champagne branded umbrellas and shiny white wood tables. So I didn’t look at all out of place picking off bits of nature I had unexpectedly found stuck to me while waiting at the bar to order, oh no.

And that is why I live in Norwich. Cocktails, canapes, burlesque and all the glitter you can handle one minute, and the next you’re picking brambles off your socks while ordering a pint of real ale in a waterside gastro pub.