It was never going to let us fully into Kylie’s private world, but her new documentary, White Diamond, did show us glimpses of the person behind the brand. Filmed between August 2006, and March 2007, it documents the resurrection of Kylie’s Showgirl tour, which was cruelly and unexpectedly halted in the summer of 2005, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
And last night, for one night only, the film was being shown in 39 Vue cinemas around the country. There was also a premiere in Leicester Square, with live footage from the red carpet shown before the film screening itself.
The ‘live’ footage was certainly questionable, with dips in sound, but it did make the evening more of an event nonetheless, and as we settled down to watch the two-hour film, we wondered just how many of the recovery and private stories Kylie would tell.
Directed by her long-time friend, stylist, and collaborator, William Baker, the behind-the-scenes movie told tales of costume fittings, failing on-stage computers, logistics, rehearsals, and virus-inducing cancellations. It’s true that here were more sensitive moments, but it was never going to be an In Bed with Madonna exposé film, and I very much doubt that neither Kylie nor indeed Baker would have wanted it that way.
Billed as ‘An intimate personal portrait of Kylie Minogue’, Baker’s adoration for his friend is clear to see, and as having been ‘together’ for over 16 years, the two have a strong and more than endearingly-close friendship. Kylie only agreed to do the film, as Baker was directing it, although even then, lots of more sensitive footage was reportedly left on the cutting room floor. She has even said herself that she canned it at least five times before finally giving Baker free rein to tell her comeback story.
Barely scratching the surface, the audience learns that Kylie likes to play around with, and giggle hysterically at, Photo Booth on her Mac; play the bored and impatient Big Brother housemate; and keep everyone’s spirits up when impending disasters start to erupt around them. Parts of her recovery story are told too, and if nothing else, Kylie has to be admired for her bravery, strength, and seemingly boundless enthusiasm.
All the things for which the fans love the diminutive star are there, too. The music of course (with two new songs I’m Hip and You Are There previewed, as well as songs by the Pet Shop Boys and Liza Minnelli); the sparkle; and the Showgirl herself.
The fans have been unanimous in their approval of the film, and you certainly won’t find this one disagreeing. After all, having followed Kylie’s career since the beginning, I feel I almost know her as well as Baker does.
Unsurprisingly, I found the film highly enjoyable, and it showed that being ‘Kylie’ isn’t all about glitter, glamour and sequins. There are bad times as well as good times, and also just as many rewards as there are obstacles to overcome, whether they are mental, physical or emotional.
Scheduled for a DVD release on 10 December, White Diamond will form part of a package which also contains the full Showgirl: Homecoming tour show. But, this week at least, for one night only, Kylie radiated in the silver shadows, glowed for us, and just like a pure white diamond, shone on and on and on and on and on…
The latest wonderful idea from ‘one’:
Dates affected: Monday 15 October to Friday 7 December
Locations affected: Norwich to Liverpool StreetDuring the autumn season, train service performance is affected by poor railhead adhesion conditions. Because of the combination of the high density of mainline ‘morning peak’ departures from Norwich to London and the seasonal autumn conditions that can cause delay, to help ensure that the performance of these key morning Monday to Friday departures from Norwich to London are not adversely affected, the following services will ALL depart 5 minutes earlier from Norwich, and also slightly earlier from Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich and Manningtree. These trains will then depart Colchester at their scheduled time, and due to arrive London Liverpool Street at the existing advertised arrival time.
Source: www.onerailway.com
Does the company really think this will make a difference? And it turns out that ‘slightly earlier’ means two minutes earlier (at least from Ipswich).
So, did the service get into London at ‘the existing advertised arrival time’? No. It was seven minutes late.
Orford Ness was previously a top-secret miltary test site
We paid a long overdue visit to Orford Ness on the Suffolk coast, today. A 10-mile shingle spit of land separated from the mainland by the river Ore, it can be reached from a ferry run by the National Trust (who own the Ness), which leaves Orford Quay every twenty minutes or so.
The largest vegetated shingle spit in Europe, it is both a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and a place of mystery, as the stark concrete buildings which populate the far reaches of the stony beaches tell stories of danger and experimentation. Orford Ness was home to both the Ministry of Defence’s Experimental Flying Research Station, and after World War 2, the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE).
Orford Ness ceased miltary operations in 1985
Top-secret military testing at this officially designated Outstanding Area of Natural Beauty was hosted during both World Wars, while the AWRE moved in during the Cold War. An experimental over-the-horizon-radar, known as Cobra Mist, was developed in the buildings and land now occupied by Orford Ness Transmitting Station, too, which now broadcasts the BBC World Service to Eastern Europe, and Radio Nationaal to The Netherlands.
BBC Word Service transmitters at Orford Ness
Much of Orford Ness can be explored, and it is both an eerily austere and beautiful place, because of its sinister warfare history and its natural scenic landscape. Three walking trails take visitors around the spit, and although the shingle beaches and former airfield can be accessed, parts of the old Cobra Mist and atomic weapons research sites remain out of reach to the public.
Strolling around the signposted paths (visitors are advised to keep to the marked routes as although made safe after its closure, buried and unexploded ordnance can make its way to the surface), we felt among the privileged few this afternoon, and with a blanket-cloud, and largely featureless sky above us, a mysterious and foreboding atmosphere lingered in the air, occasionally broken by the calls of wheeling birds.
Orford Ness lighthouse was built in 1792
Orford Ness lighthouse sits at the top of the shingle beach, overlooking the sea, and was used both as a navigation aid by Allied and German aircraft, in wartime, an observation post. The timbered Black Beacon housed an experimental ‘rotating loop’ navigation beacon (which led to an aircraft location system), and although their parts in conflict have long been played out, both structures still stand proudly. The lighthouse is still operational, guiding ships away from the shingle and sand banks, although history tells the role it may have had in the now-infamous UFO sightings in the nearby Rendlesham Forest, which allegedly took place in December 1980.
The Black Beacon dates from 1928
Mysterious tales of electrical disturbances, ghosts and UFOs, still shroud Orford Ness, even today. Compasses reportedly don’t work anywhere on the island, while computers and camera monitors have been known to stubbornly refuse to operate. The sole-remaining electrical fields still known to be active are the World Service transmitters, where the strange effects are supposedly the weakest. UFO sightings also litter the story of the spit, which only add to the Ness’ already thick air of mystery.
The paths up to the former AWRE site are the most sinister, and it’s only when the first former testing chamber for nuclear weapons is entered, that you get a dark sense of what went on at Orford. Developmental work on the British atomic bomb took part under top secret conditions in the concrete and metal buildings which are now in a state of disrepair, and you can only marvel at the dangers people faced working in such places, and the magnitude and impact the weapons their livelihoods depended on would have had if they were ever used.
A former AWRE ‘Pagoda’ (left) and testing chamber
The so-called ‘Pagodas’ are well-known on the coast in this part of Suffolk. Two of the six huge laboratories built, along with many smaller buildings, they tested every combination of physical situation and stress which the atomic bombs might be subjected to. Designed to contain high explosives, their roofs deflected debris down into the testing chambers in the event of an accidental blast. It is these buildings which are the most striking and distinctive, their columns and shallow pyramid roofs belying their dark and dangerous past.
A fascinating place to go and see, a visit to Orford Ness is highly recommended. As we strolled back leisurely to the military trailer housing the National Trust island look-out, our tired legs were telling us all we needed to know. But, it had been a well-spent and interesting afternoon, in both a historically important and remote location.
It’s finally here!
And, it’s a bit of a Kylie meets Goldfrapp stomper.
It is, give it time…
2 Hearts?
2 words: Woo! Woo!
(Also available here).