Monday past, in a bid to escape the near-insufferable heat – why does it seem to be even hotter at nighttime? – I rode up onto the sidewalk from the bike lane in a bid to park my bike, I was accosted by yet another vile, little, arse-munching, lisping ninny. Why is it that white females and white gays are so quick to be animus-charged and spew so much hate… every frigging time. As you can well imagine, I was quick on the rebuttal with even more forceful vituperative-charged impatience.

This past Pride parade, which I have never once attended, I was being invited to come to march in solidarity with the missing and murdered victims of Toronto’s gay serial killer. Without hesitation, I was almost violent in my refusal to do any such thing.

Two years earlier, whilst returning home from a work gig, I had to cut through the remnants of that year’s pride parade on Wellesley Street East, when just east of Church Street en route home, I had a tall skinhead-looking guy with lots of tatts and no shirt on with rainbow-coloured open leather vest, start shoving my bike, which at the time I was walking rather than riding.

Soon, he began taunting me: “Yeah Bud! All Lives Matter! Next someone in back of me shoved me into him and soon enough, I was being kicked in the arse, shoved, punched and my bike similarly abused. At the end of it, somehow, I managed my way home with bruised pride and a bike, which eventually had to be repaired. Later, when I got home, I discovered that earlier at the start of the pride parade, the Black Lives Matter group had been invited to participate in the march.

Somehow, it was assumed that they had crashed the parade; either way, their presence was clearly not wanted because they were being verbally assaulted and also pelted with water bottles from accounts I learnt from persons, who had witnessed the episode on Bloor Street East at the start of the parade. At the time of the assault that I endured, during which not a single soul on the crowded street and sidewalk did anything to intervene, the attack made no sense; sure, I knew from personal experience that gays are the most racially hostile persons – still, it seemed a bit extreme to be attacked out of the blue.

Like the true Rat that I am, having taken the lisping, arse-munching bigot to task, I slipped into the cool, airy sophistication of the ROM, which lords over that end of Yorkville. I had been intent on seeing the spider exhibition in B2; however, the elevators were not going there. So in the end, I opted go up to level 4 and take in the visionary fashion exhibitions by Iris van Herpen and Philip Beesley.

As previously, I had been so underwhelmed by the Dior exhibition @ ROM, I went into this one expecting very little.

Boy, was I wowed! This was like the most surreal, lucid dream imaginable. Two designs into the exhibition and I had to hightail it to the photograph and bio of the artist; I was readily impressed and warmed by her soulfulness.

This was so phenomenally uplifting an exhibition that I soon turned on John Coltrane’s, who happens to be an entity mate of mine and Merlin’s, 1958 masterpiece, Blue Train.

Those lines! Truly sublime and elegant.

Truly visionary.

Seeing these gorgeous fascinators, I was readily reminded of New York City milliner and friend of Merlin’s, Frederick Jones who – like so many black American friends of both mine and Merlin’s – perished of AIDS in the 1990s.

The fascinators also reminded me of the gorgeous recent royal wedding, which for having looked at it several times to date, I have now noticed more persons than initially on the day of.

What I found truly fascinating was that Charlie van Straubenzee has the exact same facial quirks as does Merlin’s oldest friend; the same shudder followed by mouth and nose-twitching.

Well, after all that, I could not wait to cross to the other salon and discover Philip Beesley’s creative genius.

By this point, I was certain that I would be just as equally wowed!

I was completely besotted!

For this visionary tour de force, I switched to Miles Davis’ 1959 gem, Kind of Blue.

Blow that horn Miles!

Notice the raptor-like birds staking their predatory claim to the fashion victim.

This exhibition was so breathtakingly beautiful, I was left swaying and bobbing, pretty much like Baroness Fellowes to the gospel choir singing, This Little Light of Mine, as her nephew, HRH Prince Henry, Duke of Sussex got into the Ascot Landau carriage and the elegantly ravishing Meghan, HRH Duchess of Sussex wowed the world – I don’t think that I have ever seen a white dress so white; I have been referring to it as supernova white, the damn colour so fiercely popped.

One of the most touching moments at the recent royal wedding was when designer Roland Mouret repeatedly kissed Victoria Beckham on the cheek with his sexually dynamic lover, James Webster, being the centre of my libidinally focussed and undivided attended.

Some of Philip Beesley’s whimsical designs look like something that Isabella Blow would readily have favoured. So sad to have recently lost equally stylish, unique and creative fellow English eccentrics, Annabelle Neilson and Lucy Ferry-Birley.

I really loved this dress.

This masterpiece is truly iconic.

This confection of autumnal oak leaves really moved me.

To truly be appreciated, these next marvellous creations had to have been filmed.

For this series of suspended installations, I listened next to Thelonious Monk’s 1958 masterpiece, Misterioso.

By far, this was one of the most enjoyable exhibitions ever mounted @ ROM.

This truly was amazing! Wow!

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As ever, thanks for your ongoing support and sweet dreams.  

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