Me... on my new bike

me on my new bike
Originally uploaded by DK Leather

A very happy me today.

Having been down in the dumps for a little while, mostly due to being unable to work at present for health reasons and therefore having temporarily very little income, which is seriously cramping my lifestyle. It's not terribly good for the self esteem I can tell you.

Anyway, due to that I had to sell my car (a beautiful Saab900E) awhile back, as it was simply too impractical and expensive to maintain for simple run around use. Beautiful exec car with leather interior, electric heated seats etc ... ~soft sigh~

I really don't do 'dependent' terribly well, or hemmed in, or constrained. Hardly surprising with it being me really eh?

So, a decision was made. After 15 years of absence from two wheels, I finally got mobile again. ~happy gleeful bounce~ ahem... so meet my new Honda CB400N (1985), otherwise known to me as...

~ FREEDOM! ~

I just had to share that really, didn't I?

Funniest part is having not ridden one for so long, I was just a tad nervous at first, I did feel a bit foolish. However a few rides out on the country roads at quiet periods and I'm sure I'll be back to my old confident self again... and then at last I'll be able to get about, as and when I choose again!

~doffs cap, smiling broadly~
DK
x

Back from New York... trip update!

Yes I'm still alive. I know, bad blogger, no biscuit.

This post became rather longer than I intended!

As soon as I've popped the pictures up on Flickr I'll add a link to them there.

LeatherEagle (wyfe2 Luisa) and I just spent a somewhat interesting fortnight in New York, mostly visiting her relatives of course. Her father Tony is 92, amazing guy; lives alone, drives, plays cards in his club for hours each day... but his health is failing and age is catching up with him. We were there, therefore, predominantly to look after him whilst he had cataract surgery, and drive him around various eye, ear and general doctors, dentist waiting rooms, banks and other chores. 

We also ate like horses; it's a gloriously Italian-American thing; life utterly revolves around food. Tony cooks like a professional! Of course we also visited the proverbial barrel load of relatives, including several more delightful meals out. Some of the aforementioned relatives were wonderful, welcoming and open hearted. The lovely tiny Aunts Anna from across the road and 'Marie-downtown' who lives in little Italy for example (they all have smashing Sopranos style names!) and Uncle Ronnie, they are always beautiful to me, as are Lu's neice & nephew Dani & Nick. Some however were er, less so... 

~rolls eyes remembering biting my lip to refrain from telling one particular person, whilst she pulled a face like sucking on a lemon, that she can't actually catch being queer from simply handling my mobile phone!~ Grr!

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However, you can take the gal out of the Bronx - which I did 8 years ago now - but not the Bronx out of the gal... So naturally we managed to fit in some good fun out there too. Briefly, twice, we visited with some of Luisa's very dearest old friends. 

Jack & Tim are a wicked couple who are living it large in Manhattan. We joined them for a fantastic Tapas bar birthday celebration evening out. I think the memory of watching Tim (and sometimes Luisa too!) dancing back at their apartment for hours after a few tipples ~ahem~ will stay with me forever. Even eclipsing the incredible Tapas; goats cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon was just one item, need I say more?

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Then of course we had to drive down to visit with the luscious Anne Marie & her wyfe Dora in Jersey. It was so good to catch up with them again, mind you we also included a whistlestop tour of Atlantic City beach and Casinos, that was enormous fun!

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Luisa and I spent one afternoon out alone, visiting a place named Rye Beach and walking for a few hours. It was amazingly sunny and deserted, before the season begins so no visitors yet... sheer bliss. :-)

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Blissful memories shared with new friends NaylandBlake and ThorNYC (well known NY leather bear types) along with Lolita (familiar stateside bdsm demo/workshop personality) & boymeat (cute chap). Acebest company.

Smoking a big fat cigar - yeah I know, hush up, for those who do appreciate it, there's really nothing quite like it - whilst sat in a restaurant, after a really rather good dinner.

Now don't get me wrong and throw tomatoes ~grin~ ...I'm ALL FOR no smoking in restaurants; even back when I was a cigarette smoker for 20 years, I absolutely hated the smell of smoke whilst eating. However this was a legal 'cigar bar' in Little Italy, so fat steaks were followed by fat cigars. Ah perfect bliss. ~sighs softly remeniscing~

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Anyway, another superb night was upon invitation to an LSM Party (Lesbian Sex Mafia, a New York group/community)...which was pretty fabulous fun.

It wasn't really unlike 'Lash for Lasses'! (*at least, last time we went, which is too long ago now ~makes note to self~) aka a mightily good romp of a night.

Lots of play kit, multitudinous lovely femmes & cute butches etc, feisty rooms filled with action, and best surprise was a resident bootblack (Lisa aka brooklynboi). Naturally Lu and I had ours done  old habits die hard etc.

Funniest moment of the night was a cute little butch boi laying face down in a passageway that we had to traverse, a couple of dommely types telling all bypassers to walk over her like a rug (not actually unusual in such clubs, for those wondering). Luisa brought the house down by leaning right over, bending down to whisper (loudly enough for all to hear) in the boi's ear... 

"OK, I weigh in at roughly 247lbs, now... still wanna play little boi? No... I thought not." ~grin~

Everyone watching cracked up laughing as the boi himself squeaked and curled up into a ball! Heh.

Watching the lovely Lolita strutting her stuff with a singletail was pretty good too. Wished I'd taken mine though. Hurumph.

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Wandering around for a day in Manhattan was another pleasant afternoon for just Luisa and I, after another amazing lunch in a pretty fancy restaurant overlooking the streets with friend Jack again. We continued alone when he returned to work, wandering gleefully. 

Particularly in the 'village' where a few years ago Luisa and I attended the NYC Gay Pride parade followed by the gay guys party on the pier. Now that was a fun visit...

...but that's a whole other story. ~smiles sweetly~

~doffs cap~

Night all

DK x

Walking with wolves... 13th March 2009

DK meets Mosi
Originally uploaded by DK Leather

Somewhere in the depths of Berkshire (at a well protected location) are the UK Wolf Conservation Trust, a fabulous bunch of people who have rescued, bred and socialised wolves in a long term bid to raise money to help with regards to sustaining/rescue/survival/education etc of and about wolves in the UK and Europe.

They travel shows and such, educating crowds and children, debunking wolf myths and raising awareness.

Today was the long awaited day that we had planned and paid for our place on the walk with wolves, an awe inspiring day of walking in woods with real, live wolves... on a good day you get to actually meet and touch them. It was a good day ~soft smile~

This was our boi Aimee's birthday gift (back in January)... she adores wolves as her totem animal. Today was a dream.

Please enjoy the many photos I took... and feel free to ask questions - I've been jolly well educated today!

Flickr pictures here: http://tinyurl.com/cjknqe

PS the oh-so-unsexy crouch is obligatory I promise, I don't always look quite such a twit. You can't bend over, loom over them, get too close, approach wrong... it's awfully complicated but you have to do what I'm doing there so as to be unthreatening, with your fist between your face and theirs... As you can see I forgot that bit briefly in the awe of the moment! ~chuckles~

~doffs cap~

DK x

February 2009 - Qtip visits with the leather family

For those of you who haven't seen yet, over on my Flickr is a set of pictures from our guest's trip to visit with us.

5022009 BBB trip, leathers

MORE pics HERE

Qtip, IMsBB 2008 (International Ms Bootblack, of IMsL) is a superb character and someone I've known online for several years, since her early days exploring the scene. She was a big hit, everyone loved her Southern American charm, her handsome smile and her amazing, infectious sense of fun and adventure. We'd waited quite a few years to make this visit a reality, she and I... her winning the title gave her the opportunity at last.

Her whirlwind tour took in a couple UK Scene events. Velvet Eden (club night) where she gave a smashing talk on title holding and the art of the bootblack... and got to know myself a little more personally... ~soft smile~

The Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar (fetish fair) was next, where she (and I) gave a fabulous (hot) scene demo on the passion of the bootblack and the exchange with a leather Sir, followed by an open interview on the topics of title holding and boot blacking by Keith (who runs all the demos at the BBB and has for years, happens to be a dear friend too). The picture above was from us walking into the event! Looks a bit reservoir dogs, doesn't it? ~chuckles~ Left to right: Aimee (lthrtwospirit), Qtip, myself, Sue (leatherangel) and Luisa (leathereagle). Not all of us of course, but a goodly representation.

We also managed to squeeze in a club night on the Saturday, a somewhat private affair in a fantastic venue with some very good friends from the community. Much fun was had there too... ~grin~

You can get a real feel for Q and the fun we had with her from the set of pictures on Flickr. We had a truly wonderful time hosting her personally at 'chez leather', the pictures reflect some of the smashing times we had including taking in a little English Heritage whilst here with Bolsover Castle, Monsal Head etc.

I think it's safe to say her visit was an inspiration and a bit of a revelation to the boi and myself. ~chuckles~ suffice to say we miss each other rotten. Hurry back Q...

~doffs cap~
DK x

(More about Q herself over on her own website!)

25022009 Jan the bootblack & DK

25022009 Jan the bootblack & DK
Originally uploaded by DK Leather

Ghastly photo of me, but had to be done.

This is Jan from Poland, the resident bootblack at the Grosvenor Hotel in Victoria, London. Well... we just had to really.

For those of you who don't know, bootblacking is a fine art, one much beloved and passed on here, within the leather family.

I'm pleased to say that Jan did an excellent job, and was a smashing chap 'to boot' ;-) ...he hands out philosophy with his shines, very well too. He liked us. LOL

Thought it was an appropriate post to update my blog with. Please feel free to see the set of pictures from our London trip, which include Luisa having her shoes shined and an article framed above the seat you can see in the picture above.

See the set here: http://tinyurl.com/bz2d4z (and be warned, I'm prolific with my photography... if you get dragged into the 'sets', you'll be lost for hours!

~grins and doffs cap~
DK x

Unexpected snowfall...

02022009 DK in snow
Originally uploaded by DK Leather

...seems to have caught out the UK as usual, despite the fact we deal with the stuff year in, year out. You'd think they'd be used to it by now and we wouldn't have the guaranteed closed buses, tubes, trains, schools and official 'snow days' off work left right and centre.

That said, I LOVE the snow. I think it's so utterly, cruelly yet magnificently beautiful.

Crunch. Crunch. Glitter and crunch... go my boots. I love it.

Last thing at night the snow ceased for just long enough so that I could stand outside and enjoy it awhile. I confess to enjoying a cigar too, an infrequent treat nowadays but still one I guiltily indulge.

A little gratuitous pleasure, violet light quality, silence bar the odd snow falling from roof tops, bitter cold to the marrow yet such beauty it transfixes.

Sod the public transport issues... I love it.

Oh, hi everyone, I'm aware I've been awol - I've been very poorly with pneumonic bronchitis for three weeks solid - nasty business... but I'm healing nicely again now thanks all.

~doffs cap~
DK x

Scarborough rainbow beach huts...

Beach Huts & stone walls 2
Originally uploaded by DK Leather

...contrasted with the greyed out stone walls beneath.

I thought I'd share here, too, that I've just done a marathon upload of photographs to my Flickr. Three 'sets'; Riverside walk at Darley Dale from last weekend, Scarborough from Tuesday just past, and Whitby from the same day.

Wyves Rachel and Luisa (and I) took Sue out for a day to the sea. Much needed sustenance spiritually, emotionally and mentally after a very tough couple of months.

Please do feel free to share in our joyful days out lately by visiting the sets page HERE and having a browse through those three folders. Feel free to browse the lot if you've not been before... but I warn you, I'm prolific with photos ;-)

~doffs cap~
DK