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The Golden Handbag Awards 2004...

The Golden Handbag Awards 2004
venue:   The Old Market, Hove
event:   REALBrighton.com/Gscene Magazine/Spectrum
review date:   Sunday, 16 January 2005
photos & words by:   Sam Milford

review

What a fabulous, glitzy evening at the Big Gay Oscars! Lola may have been shaking in her heels backstage, but she held the show together with great style and a gentle authority. The Old Market looked marvellous, with round tables and gorgeous centre-pieces from Aloe Petal and a capacity crowd that oozed sophistication (with the exception, perhaps, of the rowdy REALBrighton tables at the front!).

So... 2004. What a year! Lola introduced the evening by talking us through some of the highlights which, of course, includes the astounding achievement of the Pride volunteers in creating the country's favourite festival. This kind of event doesn't happen without a huge effort from a great number of people and perhaps, from experience, a bit of heartache as well at times. Congratulations to all at Pride in Brighton & Hove for a great achievement.

And on with the show... Entertainment throughout the evening was provided by some big names and some top local stars. Jennie Castell, Corel and Jacque Plunkett sang for us, Topping & Butch took us through the news with their ever-topical 'Never Mind', Julia Morris had the audience in stitches with her Ozzy take on life in London and Kitty Litter, Arsenic and Old Lace got the crowd on their feet cheering for more. All the acts gave their services for absolutely nothing to ensure that we all coughed up for some tickets, which in turn went to Spectrum! The murmers that £15 a ticket was a bit steep were firmly put to rest... they'd have been cheap at twice the price!

...and so onto the awards themselves. 18 in total... some expected results and some surprises amongst them. Hilda Braid (Nana Moon in Eastenders) kicked us off with the first few awards... I had to fight the giggles to keep the camera steady! There was a lovely moment in the out-of-town nominations where Nana Moon, having been corrected that G-A-Y should be spelt out, proceeded to spell out the next nomination - C-R-A-S-H. She was then given the opportunity to present the award for the best gay sauna! What a star!

The results, then. Lots of fabulous, fabulous businesses and people didn't win... but lots of fabulous ones did of course! Many congratulations to all the nominated businesses and personalities (far too many to list!) and to the runners-up shown below. It was often just a handful of votes between the top entries but a big pat on the back for those that took away their award!

 

category runners-up winner

Best Out of Town Venue G-A-Y
CRASH
The Fountain
Best Gay Sauna The Denmark Oasis
The Amsterdam
The Brighton Oasis
Favourite Scene Personality Toby Bowen
Betty Swallocks
Stephanie Starlet
Best Male DJ Pete Haywood
TonyB
DJ Wes
Best Barman Nick, Storm
Ian, Storm
Jamie McDonald , Brighton Tavern
Best Gay Business

Clone Zone
Planted

Café22
Best Restaurant The Saint
No Name
The Strand
Best Manager Andy, Fountain
Phil, Charles Street
Andy, Queen's Arms
Best Female DJ Kate Wildblood
Ricky Rocket
Dulcie Danger
Best Bar Girl Jo, Couch 33
Gemma, Revenge
Claudia, Candy Bar
Best Girls Night Out

Koochy
Candy Bar

Wet Pussy
Best Cabaret Bar

Harlequin
Queen's Arms

Legends
Favourite Entertainer Dave Lynn
Phil Starr
Lola Lasagne
Best Club Night

Lollipop
GBH

Wild Fruit
Best Bar Queen's Arms
Legends
Charles Street
Best Club Storm
Envy
Revenge
Gscene Special Awards  

The Marine Tavern
Arthur Law

 

A huge thankyou to everyone involved but particularly to Gscene's editor, James Ledwood, to the fabulous host Lola Lasagne and to REALBrighton's James Brooks for all the organisation and skill that ensured the show went so smoothly.

Big thanks also due to the Old Market for providing the venue, to Arena Entertainment Systems for the sound and lighting and to Karis for providing essential sponsorship for the event.


someone said...

A VIP comment randomly selected for your delight:

"I'm glad this photo came out... it's hard to take a decent photo when you're crying with laughter!"

Said by Samwell on Wed, 31st August 2005.

click to view the photo jump to photo

snapped!

Click the VIP's name to see where we caught'em!

_Skip_
airkick16
Arena
Charlie
Dan_18
DJAlexBaker
DJDitze
DJSaint
Doug
Duchess
Huw
JamieMC
joe20btn
johnmer
kitty
kris6969
Lola_L
Loveman
MrTinker
pugger
Rob
ryan39
Samwell
Scampy
simonneil
Spike
star_boi
tankgirl
Timmy
Wesley
wildblood
Wilma



the photos...

First Half

First Half
photos by Sam Milford

Star presenters for the first half included Hilda Braid (Nana Moon in Eastenders), Matthew Bose (Paul Lambert in Emmerdale) and Betty Swallocks (in a suit!). Jennie Castell, Julia Morris and Topping & Butch entertained us...

view review review

Interval

Interval
photos by Sam Milford

A short breather for the acts, and time to tape our split sides back together after Julia Morris. The volunteer barstaff continued to work tirelessly through the interval to ensure that as many people as possible didn't have to get up and go to the bar! Cheers you lot!

view review review

Second Half

Second Half
photos by Sam Milford

The tension's rising... the drumrolls seem to be getting longer as each award is read out. Some of the most hotly contested categories are saved for the second half...

view review review


about REALBrighton.com

Over the last six years, the unique perspective of REALBrighton.com has attracted an audience of millions of visitors and is now Brighton's leading nightlife website, covering Gay Brighton, Straight Brighton and everything in-between.

The next REALBrighton.com date for your diary:

Tuesday, 29th July
The REALBrighton Pride Quiz Challenge @ Charles Street Club (Pride in Brighton & Hove)

Click for more info and complete listings for REALBrighton.com complete listings


about Gscene Magazine

Gscene has been flying off venue shelves in Brighton for well over ten years, with pages packed with news, reviews, regular columnists and politics from Brighton's LGBT scene. Editor, James Ledward is known for being an outspoken and active member of the local community, often voicing views and concerns in his editorials.

Click for more info and complete listings for Gscene Magazine complete listings


about Spectrum

Okay...so many of you may not have heard of Spectrum, or if you do, scratch your head when it comes to what they do... well, we're here to try to put that right.

Click for more info and complete listings for Spectrum complete listings


about Lola Lasagne

The award-winning Lola Lasagne has long been a favourite cabaret performer in London and Brighton. Although it's obviously a drag queen's prerogative not to reveal specifics - let's just say it has been more than a decade and less than a lifetime!

The next Lola Lasagne date for your diary:

Friday, 25th July
All the nice girls love a sailor! @ Hampshire Boulevard, Portsmouth

Click for more info and complete listings for Lola Lasagne complete listings

 

 

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