Headaches, Hoorays, Hard Ons and Horrors,
 
Well what a difference a month makes Pets,
 
The Panna Dolls have left The Grosvenor Hotel in East St Kilda to tread the boards of Commercial Roads recently renovated DIVA BAR, whilst playing to huge crowds over the past few months it seems new management at The Grosvenor wanted to go back to the way it was before Priscilla and Cherry arrived last January. It seems the new manager has had his wish granted and his new act, a solo guitarist is playing to more manageable numbers now!
 
Whilst on the subject of The PANNA DOLLS taking up residency at DIVA BAR they seem to have taken the strip by storm having been performing to record crowds every Friday, as has Cherry and Priscilla each Saturday with their unique COVER GIRLS show. Get over to DIVA and have a look at both shows for yourself. Cherry and Priscilla have also launched their new website targeting the corporate market which has paid dividends almost immediately, check it out at www.boysjustwannabegirls.com
 
Our Dear Sisters at Pink were given just days to vacate their drag home at The Newmarket recently, what is it with hotel owners these days not knowing when they really are on a good thing with these talented Cross Dressers?
 
Wet Willie has decided to shelve plans permanently for a “Gay Sauna” above the Hound, rumour has it that the fight that was going to ensue through VCAT would have been too expensive (I guess that happens when you take on a group of solicitors and a QC) and that a decision against the sauna would have had dire consequences for the entire Sex on Premises industry. I guess it’s best to keep the 3 you have got than lose them all, as well as running the risk of upsetting all the other SOP owners as well hey?
 
An infamous redhead left her regular Saturday gig in a flurry of controversy recently (when isn’t life around this one a drama), Now e-mails (AGAIN) have surfaced penned by “The Wicked Witch of the NORTHSIDE’s” boy persona, having been on the end of some of her venomous e-mails in the past my advice to the poor soul in her sights now, is ignore her and hope like in The Wizard of Oz a house drops on her sooner rather than later!
 
B(for bad)NEWS have been at it again, recently my dear brother received an e-mail in regards to the listing of The Grosvenor, The churlish e-mail that read “I needed to confirm with you that the Grosvenor Hotel is no longer doing drag shows. We don't want our venue Guide to contain incorrect information” (sic). Fair enough! My dear brother informed them that yes they were correct and that they should remove the listing, he also let them know they were still listing SHED 16 up until their last edition, a venue which had closed months ago!
 

More Renovations a few Hello’s and a Couple of Goodbye’s

Hello Pets, It’s been a while, your poor Auntie Vera has been so ridiculously busy lately, but I promise to dedicate a bit more time to my website

Firstly our dear sisters at pink will be having their final night in the venue on the 17th of November after just over 4 years of entertaining the masses (Not a bad effort considering some said it would last only five weeks). Amanda and the gang have decided to commit more time and resources to their corporate gigs and their other nights at Temple Bar In Collingwood. Make sure you get down to see the BEST OF SHOWS the girls will be doing between now and November the 17th.

Miss Melbourne Drag came to it’s final with Wilma Fingerdoo winning the coveted title, quite controversial I hear.

Cherry Ripe and Priscilla Posely will now be doing their Covergirl Show on a Saturday Night at Diva Bar, after just three weeks performing on a Thursday at The Diva and after entertaining burgeoning crowds whilst filling in on a Saturday for Dear Pussy and Tabitha, Dear cousin Peter and his lovely wife Carmella decided that they just had to have the Two Drag Dynamo’s on a Saturday permanently. With the Covergrils moving to Saturday this left a hole in Thursday's line up so MAD Mitch lined up his good mates Slash Darling and Vicki Vegas to host the night now called NQR (Short for Not Quite Right Thursdays look like being more fun than Candy Bar on a Monday!

Speaking of Diva, Peter and Carmella have done an amazing job of renovating the place, whilst a few little details are yet to be finished, the place overall is a credit to them, Auntie Vera knows some of the problems and obstacles that DIVA had to overcome to make the Grand Unveiling on Saturday the 29th and believe me Peter and Carmella made a Superhuman effort along with the staff to get the place finished. So make sure you pop in sometime soon and have a look.

Rumour has it that The Covergirls (Ms. Posely and Ms. Ripe) will be entertaining the masses at a well known Chapel Street venue each Sunday. Details I believe are still being worked out, however I hear the gig starts in about 3 weeks. Is there no stopping these two from nothing short of World Domination? Look out for Priscilla and Cherry's New corporate website Boys Just Wanna Be Girls at www.boysjustwannabegirls.com

Once again The Peel is in the thick of it, this time with residents not liking where they have purchased apartments. It seems that no one did their homework before buying property in the area, Auntie Vera has been partying at the Peel on and off for nearly 16 years and I’m sure it’s been a night club all that time! Lets hope Tom prevails (I’m sure he will somehow)

The Grosvenor Hotels Friday Drag Show with the Panna Dolls (Priscilla Posely , Cherry Ripe, Vicki Vegasand Jason and Eddie) has gone gang busters the last few months, Everytime Auntie Vera goes there, there are  new lights, sound and better still numbers. I am really so proud of the girls who put the show on at The Grosvenor, It really should give them great satisfaction to know The Grosvenor is THE PLACE to be on a Friday.

Auntie Vera’s dear sister Sandy LaGore has left The Victorian shores with a massive send off last Friday at The Grosvenor (even though BNEWS still can’t get anything right and labeled the pics this week as The Greyhound). We will all miss Sandy so much here in Melbourne, however I do believe The Covergirls will be over in November for a Show at a well known Tassy Club, and will be calling in on our dear expat sister.

 

Renovations, Flatulations, Eminations and Congratulations,

Well Treasures it’s been a funny old couple of weeks on the scene, I popped into Diva Bar the other week and whilst all the renovations weren’t finished Auntie Vera liked what she saw, my dear cousin Peter has done a stirling job on making the club look bigger and even more enticing.
 
The Market last week finished it’s renovations and my don’t they look fabulous.
 
The Gayhound has had some of the walls painted but it’s a shame Wet Willie hasn’t moved a little quicker to rectify the ancient old toilet facilities, last Saturday only the 2 ladies & 1 disabled toilet were apparently functional due to problems with the sewerage pipes, even with half of the hotel closed the stench of excrement was allegedly too overwhelming for some, forcing them into the street. Lets hope the full renovations are completed before the weather gets warmer.
 
The Exchange Hotel is enjoying bumper crowds lately. it seems one hotels problems are a blessing to another with many flocking on a Saturday to the iconic gay venue well away from their traditional St Kilda haunt, It seems those that have had the sense to cater to our tobacco puffing sisters are doing quite well thankyou very much.
 
It was nice to see some real talent the last week or two competing in Miss Melbourne Drag at Pink, with heat fours winner being Petra-Fied (there is something about a girl with an emu, or was it swan on her head) and Heat fives winner Wilma Fingerdo having the crowd in stitches,  well deserved winners on the respective nights I must say.

Video Of the Week

Auntie Vera was surfing the net and came across this little gemstone, It's a very old video of The One and Only Dulcie DeJour many years ago at The Exchange Hotel, well you know what they say accidents do happen, being the true professional, Dulcie continues on as if nothing has happened (No Drag Queen was harmed in the making of this video). OUCH!


Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire

Well what a busy week it’s been, with the new smoking ban coming into effect as of the 1st of July, any hotel worth going to has spent big money on catering for it’s all important smoking clientele. The Exchange has built a wonderful new roof top smoking area and so has the Market Hotel, The Grosvenor however, has gone one better and built one that is actually undercover and under the existing roofline. and best of all its heated! And has an open fireplace and comfy chairs to boot.
 
Whilst around the traps over the weekend it was interesting how many people actually must have stayed at home rather than brave the elements at hotels without adequate undercover smoking areas, one such hotel in St Kilda faring the worst with a massive reduction in patronage rumored to have been less than 50 patrons on Saturday Night (a far cry from the CLASSICAL good old days when they packed them in). No doubt this would have had the owners chasing their “TAILS and “BARKING” mad.
 
Miss Melbourne Drag kicked off last Saturday with gadzooks! a Drag King winning the first Heat, giving a stellar performance Max Fukter (yes that’s the name) scored the highest with the judges (one of them being the ever camp Priscilla Posely) to take out Heat one, Smash Warrior Rai (where do they get these names from) took out best up and coming.
 
Whilst on the subject yours truly will be judging MMD on the 21st of July whilst Priscilla Posely will be a guest performer on the night, so come down and support our dear sisters at Pink, and upon closing join us at The Grosvenor for another performance by Ms. Posely who by then will no doubt be absolutely sozzled.

Don’t’ Miss The Grosvenor this Friday the 13th, The place will be swimming with AFL footballers who are coming along to see an old friend (Cherry Ripe) and The Panna Dolls perform.
 

Sauna’s, Sonnets, Soirées and Sisters

Well another News packed fortnight has passed us by.
 
Congratulations go to Will and the gang of The Greyhound Hotel which finally got it’s permit to run a Gay sex on premises Sauna upstairs. The Van Der Linden’s are rumoured set to spend $900,000+ on The fit out and refurb of the hotel (That should be enough to get new toilet facilities installed at least). It will be nice to see some tender care spent on the old hotel at last.
 
Congratulations also to Kaye Sera (Daren Pope) who has taken up a new position as Entertainment Editor with Bill Caldwell’s new publication UTimes I don’t know how many publications one person can write for these days but maybe Daren can pull some stories from BNEWS into UTimes!
 
All and sundry were at Sandy LaGores Birthday bash at The Grosvenor Hotel last Friday including Ms Vivien St James, with the birthday girl set to do a number for her guests she was promptly told by her minders that she would be forced onto oxygen before and after the performance, it seems to have done the trick as Sandy’s performance included a dance routine that included at least three cartwheels and several high kicks much to the delight of the crowd, You go Girl!
 
And Finally The Campest Queen in town Ms Priscilla Posely is now on MySpace, you can see her at
www.myspace.com/priscillaposely
 

 
Alan, Stella and Vivien enjoying Sandy, Cherry and The Grosvenor’s Hospitality on Sandy's Birthday