Londoner's Diary: Amy Lamé book blocked by Chinese printers

In Today's Diary: Amy Lamé's book banned from printers in China | Donna Leon challenges May on climate | Milliner Stephen Jones celebrates his anniversary | Victoria Borwick gets heckled by Kensington Constituents | Hugh Bonneville: Covfefe is the new black 
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1 June 2017

A thumbs down from China for night czar Amy Lamé’s new book on the history of the LGBTQ+ movement, wittily entitled From Prejudice to Pride.

The book was sent to printers in China, who rejected it on the basis of its content, Lamé said yesterday at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, where she launched the book.

Interviewed on stage by Graham Norton about the tome aimed at young people, Lamé, right, explained: “China said it won’t print the book. It might have been because, on page 21, there’s a picture of two Chinese lesbians having a good old snog,” she mused. “Gathering in public places for things like Pride is illegal in China. It goes to show we still have a long way to go.”

Which printers it was we don’t know but the book, published by Hachette imprint Wayland, was eventually printed in Singapore.Lamé said she experiences prejudice at home too. “My girlfriend and I were [shouted at] up on the street in Trafalgar Square last year by some crazy person who didn’t like the fact that we were holding hands,” she said.

While serious, the event was also a celebration, with lots of laughs. Norton asked of the history: “How much of this did you know, and how much of it were you like ‘Google Gay’?”. “As I’m sure you know, if you Google ‘Gay’ you never know where it’s going to end up,” she said.

Lamé moved to London from the US in 1992. She said: “I really came to be a lesbian.” Norton assured her: “You’ve done very well.”

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It’s the only question that matters: Oasis or Blur? NME asks Jeremy Corbyn that very opinion divider in this week’s issue. “I’m going to plump for Oasis,” Corbyn says. “But I know this will immediately divide the audience, so what I should have said was, ‘I’ll refer it to a focus group to decide,’ but I’m not keen on focus groups.”

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Perhaps Blur is the Tory choice — all that talk of a big house, a very big house in the country ...

The darling books of May could save us

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TRUMP is playing hard to get with the Paris climate accord, and this week Green Party leader Caroline Lucas asked “Where is the Environment?” in the election. If Theresa May won’t listen to Lucas, will she listen to favoured author Donna Leon? May said she read Leon’s crime books on holiday.

Venice-based Leon gets exercised about global warming, and criticised May’s dismantling of the Department of Climate Change last year.

“By God, you just shut that sucker down,” she said with surprise, in an email to us. Could Leon persuade May with literature? “I hope to heaven that the PM of any nation doesn’t need to read about global warming in a crime novel to begin to consider the possibility that it might be a reality,” she replied, curtly.

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Quote of the day: “He wasn’t at a barn dance in Londonderry downing Guinness in a balaclava”

Russell Brand defends Jeremy Corbyn’s historic connections with the IRA

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Hats off to celebrate a great milliner

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MILLINER Stephen Jones may be way off 100 but he nevertheless celebrated his centenary last night, throwing a gala dinner merging his 60th birthday party with his 40th anniversary in the industry. Held at Bistrotheque in Hackney, the dress code inevitably called for hats, and the mad hatters in attendance included designer Pam Hogg, fellow milliner Philip Treacy and queen of vintage Virginia Bates.

Jones shows no sign of slowing down: he still provides the cherry on top for models Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, and made Pippa Middleton’s wedding veil. Here’s to the next 100 years.

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THE Londoner flicked on the BBC today to see Mary Beard, Cambridge classicist, and Peter Stringfellow, gentleman’s club owner, taking part in Election Blind Dates. Peter, a Remainer, said immigrants “make their money and then they go away to their own businesses”. Mary replied: “Can I parody you and say ‘I’m a Remainer because I want all those nice Eastern European girls to come and take their clothes off in my club. I’d love to teach you, Peter.” “It’s too late to teach me anything, Mary.” Old dog.

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Borwick in the firing line

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Kensington’s Tory MP, Victoria Borwick, might have wished she’d followed Theresa May’s lead and stayed away from Notting Hill last night. The holy setting of St John’s Church didn’t inhibit constituents, who booed the visibly nervous Borwick when she ducked questions on how to tackle Brexit.

“We need to work together,” she said. “We’re much stronger together than we are separately”. “Answer the f**king question,” one guest shouted. Labour candidate Emma Dent Coad jabbed a finger at Borwick. “She,” Coad said scornfully, “voted against Remain three times — no wonder she can’t answer the question”. The audience stamped their feet and heckled Borwick, before Lib-Dem candidate Annabel Mullin continued. “Nine times she voted against climate change,” she said, referring to Borwick’s reluctance to support preventative measures. “Every breath we take is what she was voting against, I’m asking you to employ me.” One attendee scoffed: “No chance.” Mullin shrugged: “I’ll take that as a maybe.” Tough crowd.

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Tweet of the day: “People in covfefe houses shouldn’t throw covfefe.”

Hillary Clinton tweets Donald Trump yesterday after he calls her “crooked” and a “terrible candidate.” Get over it, Donald.

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Covfefe is this season’s new black

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STILL wondering what “covfefe” means? Yesterday, Donald Trump tweeted the already-notorious typo, causing pundits to come up with their own definitions. Actor Hugh Bonneville thinks it might be sartorial. “Loving my stylish new covfefe,” he Instagrammed yesterday. “Everyone’s wearing them this season.”

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Excuse of the day: the Russian Orthodox church defends one of its priests driving a 4 x 4 worth 13 times the national salary. “Jesus himself wore expensive clothes that were given to him as presents by people who respected him.”

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