There really is nothing more comforting than being told a bedtime story. For most of us the idea of pyjamas are long gone.. if we wear anything at all whilst we sleep it is a scraggy old t-shirt and pants, our teddybears are somewhere in our parents attics and we either drink our selves to sleep, shag our ourselves to sleep, bore ourselves to sleep .. or simply don't go to sleep at all. But every so often, and it normally comes along when I most need it, I find myself inside an enchanted little castle, invisible from the outside, on the hideous Mile End Road.
This place is 40 Winks, the charming, mysterious and delectable home of the even more magical Mr Carter (A dandyesque, elfin creature, cheeky and chirpy.. tall and talented.. a story book special!) . A hidden gem, I have become quite acquainted with the place over the last couple of years. This house is my friend.
Don't get me wrong. Bed time story night is all about escapism but escapism of the best kind. We aren't regressing to childhood, we aren't playing make-believe, we are in it. In a very unusual but a very adult world of entertainment, experience, adventure and journeys.
I move on to The Beautiful and The Damned. It seems that for the last couple of evenings everyone I have met in this universe has been exactly that. Guests after being escorted to the un-dressing rooms then transform themselves into temptresses and proud princes, scantily clad or gloriously gowned in beautiful night-time attire. No body can be ugly at forty winks! It is part of the magic of the place.
The more beautiful the guests become the more damned the get as they sip and slurp on lots and lots of very special, very unusual Hendrix gin (ok so maybe we still drink ourselves to sleep)! Gin in tea cups. Gin. Gin. My I love gin! Nibbling on smoked salmon and freshly cooked sausage roles the guests mingle joyfully sharing tales of their lives... why this is a story in itself. Flirtation happens, innuendo rolls but the most witty and wonderful sort. The flirtation of the mind.
I can't tell you of all the excitement and magic of the place because it is held inside my heart. The mystery engulfs it and the outside world isn't quite capable of explaining the experience. We heard tales of the devil, the destruction, the death of the divine. Stories of the sea, sex and seduction. Music filled the air and silence struck. Sleep, sleep, sleep.
I love this place. It is the home inside my head. Theatrical majesty becomes reality and I don't have to dream anymore.
Leaving is always hard. Back to the “outside” but you have learnt something new. Felt something new. Whether you choose to remain beautiful, damned or both, 40 winks will always be there just behind the facade.
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