Stock-Pick Heroics

I've been encouraged to dip my manicured toes into the murky world of stocks and shares.  Well, I meet enough boys from the city - why not try playing them at their own game?

Once again, Simon English from the Evening Standard has been in touch, and in what must be the ideal dinner party dream, I found myself sat at a table with a City analyst, a journalist, and a PR guy.  Naturally I was the only blonde present, and thought that I added a certain flair to the proceedings.  Simon asked that I dressed 'demure' as it was a 'business lunch in Kensington'. Keeping true to my sexy stripping self, I wore heels and a russet-orange bodycon dress.  Well, a girl has to look good for lunch, right?

I'm now a competitor playing with ten thousand pounds, and rather than spending it in Selfridge's shoe hall, I'm investing it in glitzy, glamorous shares.  With Christmas coming up I don't see how I could go wrong!

I'm dropping two grand on;

Gold - a bit tacky with my colouring, but the rest of the world drape themselves in it.  Especially rich Arabs, who surely control the stockmarket/world economy/stuff.

Silver - a gorgeous seductive precious metal, like me.  

Diamonds - a girl's best friend, especially when they come in a Tiffany's blue box.  Stripper's love a twinkle too - spangly thongs & chandelier earrings!

LVMH - because I love champagne & fancy Salma Hayek

Burberry - because I am a proud Londoner & it's run by girls.

My competitor's are Jeremy the Stockbroker (a charming man) Harry the Hedge-Fund, Whiskers the Cat and Mickey the Mattress.  For some reason I've been called Lisa the Lapdancer - I think I preferred Lucy as in my previous article, but whats a few more stagenames?!?

The competition is running over the next three months - you can read all about it here

Wish me luck!!!

Really Rosamund? The clubs that strip women of their dignity

I got told by a fellow tweeter last Thursday that there was 'a rather misinformed article compared to the one you were in in the Evening Standard the other week' (thanks @K_Pilch)

I followed her link and found a rather opinionated article on a female journalist's visit to Secret's in Covent Garden.  Read it here

I was surprised by how offensive it was.  The author, Rosamund Unwin, has written very funny and sharp article in the past that I have really enjoyed, but this wasn't clever at all, just nasty with a hint of snobbish bully about it.  She calls herself a 'self-declared strident feminist' but derides a ladies night - the first one the club had held (in that location).  I tried to look at the website to see what 'ladies night' entails but I couldn't find any information.  Nonetheless, a stripclub making an effort to be more attractive to female customers should be applauded.  In America, girls visit lapdancing bars all the time - why not here?  Besides, the lesbian scene in London has been decimated with the closure of Ghetto and Trash Palace, and is now a figure of fun in the sleazy Channel 5 documentary imaginatively titled 'The Candy Bar'.  (I've been there, it's great, and much better than channel 5 portrays it.)

She says that the dance was 'as erotic as taking out the rubbish' and complains about feeling the dancer's 'leg stubble'.  She also says that her female friend was laughing throughout in 'embarrassed hysterics'.  Poor girls - doesn't Rosamund realise that we are not all Dita von Teese, and have to try and be 'erotic' without personalised lighting, special effects, a hair and make-up team, and a chereographer?

I was really pleased to see that the majority of comments were in favour of lapdancers and thought that the piece was 'one-sided' and 'bitter'.  It's certainly very different to the Striponomics article which was based on an interview with yours truly a few months ago.  There are also lots of reader comments on my blog piece on the article

I suppose that it's the job of newspapers to explore professions such as mine from all angles, and that the Evening Standard should be lauded for presenting such different views by such different columnists.  London's sex industry is a huge heaving underground mass and it's great to see insights into the sex industry in London get some press - even if it's a bad review of a lapdancing bar.  Still, it's a shame that Rosamund Unwin complained of lapdancing bars stripping women of their dignity, when she goes on to strip the lapdancers of their dignity in her article.

Striponomics

I had to keep my little mouth shut today at work after being featured in the evening standard newspaper which is distributed in a major way throughout London.

See the awesome article by super Simon English here

I've dealt with this by repeatedly requesting dolly Parton & disco anthems when I get called up on stage.

It's really difficult keeping your mouth shut when you have to talk for a living...

Would you take your girlfriend to a lapdancing club?

I think lots of London women would go to a lapdancing club like Platinum Lace.  Its sexy, naughty, fun - and you know that the loitering women with hungry eyes want your man - and can't have him.... as he's with you, and you control his wallet, ha ha ha...

I laughed as I read the Evening Standard article today

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23922147-would-you-ever-take-your-girlfriend-to-watch-a-lapdancer.do

In a full two page spread - accompanied with some slightly surreal shots of some dancer pals of mine, one of my favourite journalists, Simon English, grilled Simon Warr, another old pal of mine, on how he wanted to change the lapdancing industry in the UK for good - and for the better...

(God, I'm sorry if I sound totally nepotistic in the above paragraph, but really - the London lapdancing scene is fairly small and I do like reading a good newspaper article)

It worried me that in these recessionistic times the average earn of '£300-£500' a night was plastered all over the place - I usually come home with £100-150, after costs, but of course can and do earn more than that, especially on busy nights.  I feel sorry for my pals at Platinum Lace - the doors will be swinging with many an auditionee over the next week, although I'm sure the publicity will bring the customers in too.

I remember the 2003 police raids on Spearmint Rhino - it was when I was just starting as a dancer, and I thought it was normal.  It was petrifying - girl after girl disappearing with no warning, sacked for misdemeanours or soliciting or prostitution - this is what we were told by the grumpy 'little Hitler' staff, but I remember thinking, 'really? her?'  Now there have been so many faces, and so many shock stories, I don't blink an eyelid - but it whilst I understand the scare tactics used to prevent the remaining dancers to behave, its a shame that some many girls names are now tainted in my mind.  Girls who may have lent me a helping hand as I started out on my first few nights as a lapdancer....

Still though, I admire Simon Warr, who has now left Spearmint Rhino to set up his own chain of super-brand strip clubs, 'Platinum Lace'.  I've worked in his latest Piccadilly Circus flagship, and its gorgeous - I would have stayed if there had been a more regular stream of punters.

Maybe in the future, I'll go back - Simon Warr, like the journalist said, I wish you luck....