September story: 15 September 2004

 illustration maggie chiang

 words aimee-lee abraham

You were a child this morning. This morning is a world away.

You’re ten, and you’re in the cloakroom when it happens. Of course you’re in the cloakroom when it happens. I’m sorry to tell you that this kind of twisted inconvenience will become a hallmark. Better get used to it, kid.

Right now, though, you’re not used to it. Not one bit. That’s okay. How could you be? You’re ten, and you’re not even sure if you’ve crossed the line. No one else has crossed the line in your class, not that you know of.

All you have is an instinct, an inkling founded upon the sun-stained leaflets you’ve seen stacked up in the GP’s office, their pages full of clip-art girls, all of them clutching hot water bottles and chocolate bars. All you know is that you just felt a hot trickle, followed closely by cold shock. All you know is that you want your Mum. What now?

There’s excitement, dread, the kind of adrenaline you’ll experience only a handful of times since. It feels like a requited glance. It feels like the delicious unravelling that comes when you’re getting to truly know another person. It feels like jumping off a cliff. More of that later. Let’s deal with this one step at a time.

The walk home from school that day is no different to any other, not really. Except this time it’s less of a stroll, more of a casual run. There’s no time to stop for penny sweets.

As you half-jog, you try to be sympathetic about whatever melodrama unfolded at lunch, to fill all the right spaces with sighs, but every syllable that runs from Jennifer’s mouth is unintelligible, like she’s dribbling hot glue down her uniform. What does she know, anyway? She’s just a child. You were a child this morning. This morning is a world away.

Suddenly, you’re something else, something grey and in-between. A little woman. All you can hear is the rush of blood – to your head, and perhaps to the other place, too. You are melting, and so is Jennifer, and so is the pavement. Your soles are sinking like quicksand. Your limbs are dead weights. Your skirt is too tight; your collar is a Boa constrictor.

When you wave goodbye, you crumble and stumble up the garden path as fast as you can. You’ll see Jennifer tomorrow, if the sky can hold up until then, if you make it. Double maths and a spelling test, first thing. You’ll later call this pathetic fallacy. Right now you call it lame.

When you finally put the key in the door, you pretend not to hear your mother when she asks how your day has been, even though you want nothing more than to collapse into her, and plead for a bedtime story.

You retreat, run to the bathroom, lock the door. You see the stain, a suspicion confirmed in cloth. You recoil at the suddenness, at the sadness. This is a loss, as well as a gain.

No one told you about how complex this act would be, how loaded a bodily function could feel. It will represent so much over the years. You will bleed relief. You will bleed grief. You will panic when you bleed, and panic even harder when you don’t. Your ovaries will torment you, and cause you extreme pain. You’ll love them anyway, thank them for doing their job. It’s funny because nothing has changed yet, not really, but these four walls feel less solid, somehow. The ground: gelatinous. The relics of childhood are suddenly stark, inappropriate, out of context.

You thought you’d be happy about this transition, or at least less bothered. You’ve seen the moment play out countless times, in vanilla-scented advertisements where the women laugh over salad and cartwheel because they can. You’ve had 'The Talk'. You’ve read about it by torchlight, in Sugar and Mizz, in Danielle Steel novels stolen from your aunt’s shelf. You’re prepped, but that doesn’t mean you’re ready.

And so you steady yourself, lean against the cold plastic panelling of the tub your mother bathed you in, back when we were shiny and new. What use do you have for rubber ducks now, what use for the mermaid Barbie with her kaleidoscopic tail and Rapunzel hair, what use for the no-more-tears shampoo? They’re all designed for screaming children, not for you.

Tomorrow you’ll feign a different sickness, take three steps at once. When you borrow your mother’s razor without asking, you’ll seek out legs smooth as silk, and plan to go without tights. Instead, you’ll bleed even more. You’ll immediately take out a whole chunk of your ankle, and your skin will become effervescent, the wound fizzing like a soluble vitamin you’ll later drop into water when you’re hungover. It’ll scar, and you’ll look at it and laugh when you’re 23. It marks how far you've come. 

Aimee-lee Abraham is a London-based writer and editor who dreams of running back to the Welsh hills. Instagram @aimlee.abraham

Discover three more 'September stories' in issue 38 of Oh Comely, out now. 

What We're Reading: Matilda by Roald Dahl

words: Aimee-lee Abraham

When I was small and relentless, my mother would occasionally threaten to call up Agatha Trunchbull, enquiring about vacancies at The Chokey. Sometimes, she’d get as far as punching the “special number” into our landline – slowly and deliberately, for added suspense. It never proceeded beyond that, though, because I’d melt into a teary, hot heap of sorry on the floor by the time she hit the third digit, hysterical at the mere mention of her name. In case you have never read Matilda (also known as The Gospel for Bookish Girls Everywhere), let me explain. Trunchbull is the fictional headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School, where Our Saviour Matilda is imprisoned. A fine educator, Agatha is also a heavyweight athlete, and likely a psychopath. In 1972, she competed in three separate Olympic events – Shot Put, Javelin, and Hammer Throw – skills she is still perfecting decades later, swinging innocents by their pigtails, chucking them into “Chokeys” of nails and smoke – a child’s incarnation of Dante’s inferno, hand-built with care.

What makes Trunchbull so enduring and terrifying is the maelstrom of pain she embodies, representing every childhood injustice we have collectively experienced distilled into a single dictator. She represents mushy vegetables piled high, and is probably to blame for the existence of frogspawn tapioca. She stands for every premature bedtime – for the loneliness of being banished to a single bed, listening to grown-ups laugh and live beyond the forbidden glow of the hallway. She’s in every sibling squabble that was somehow your fault, even though they started it. She’s in every toy ripped from your helpless grasp, in every summer holiday cursed with rain, in every privilege inexplicably removed.

To revisit Trunchbull is to remember how it feels to exist in a world so impenetrable and vast it makes your head hurt, where adults insist they know best, but behave in ways that seem spiteful, nonsensical, or both. Trunchbull is big and you are small, Trunchbull is right and you are wrong. There is nothing you can do about it. In that sense, she is a lot like the US President, but even more sartorially challenged. To this day, I occasionally dream of her, directly or indirectly. Sometimes she appears as a phantom, bearing coffee breath and spinach wedged between teeth. Sometimes she manifests in enclosed spaces and closed minds, in visions of stunted growth, shards of ruined potential cutting my feet. Her power is timeless and strange. It clings to ambitious girls like tar. 

Pick up a copy of issue 35 to discover three more books with strong characters that have stuck with us – for better or worse.

Women Who Changed the World: Harriet Tubman

In every issue of Oh Comely we celebrate the life of an extraordinary woman you ought to know about. This week, we’d like you to meet Harriet Tubman: an abolitionist, liberator, and humanitarian who ruled the Underground Railway with a pistol and a barrel of belief.

“There was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive.”

Born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of 1800s Maryland, Harriet Tubman endured the harsh life of a field’s hand from birth, fending for herself and her siblings while their Mother worked in their master’s “Big house”. Sometime between 1834 and 1836, an iron weight directed at another fleeing slave struck her instead, landing with such force it fractured her skull and drove fragments of her shawl into her head. Although she suffered from seizures and periods of semi-consciousness for the rest of her life, the incident was the catalyst of her self-driven revolution.

Continually hired out for odd-jobs despite her impairment, Harriet worked on the docks and in a timber gang. It is here she learned of the secret networks of communication within an exclusively male world. Combining a mariner’s knowledge of safe zones with her own skills of disguise and deception, she became uniquely equipped to flee the horrors of slavery. In 1849, she ran away, leaving her family and husband of five years behind at the plantation. With nothing but the clothes on her back and the North Star as her compass, she evaded bounty hunters and found work as a housemaid in Philadelphia, saving her wages to return South and conduct escape missions. Despite the substantial reward placed on her head, she returned to the site 13 times and helped 70 people find freedom via the covert Underground Railroad. Dubbed “Black Moses” on account of her unrelenting faith and conviction, she carried a loaded pistol and was unafraid to use it against captors, nor to warn fellow fugitives who showed fear or hesitation.

At the outbreak of the civil war, her talents were noticed by the Union Services, who hired her to work as as a spy. Prized for her ability to move unnoticed through rebel territory, she became the first American woman to command an armed military, leading a raid that saw the liberation of another 700 slaves along the Combahee River. During this time she also worked as a cook, nurse, cleaner, scout, laundress and teacher - selling pies, gingerbread and beer in order to supplement her pitiful wage.

 In her later years, she became ever more politicised and continued to campaign for women’s suffrage and black liberation before founding the Harriet Hubman Home for the Aged: a safe space for sick and indignant African-Americans who had sustained injuries similar to her own. Aged 90, she passed away safe in the knowledge of her immaculate record. She never lost a single fugitive, nor allowed one to turn back. 

Further Reading: Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero by Kate Clifford Larson

Images: Library of Congress, Bettman/Corbis of The NYT Photo Archive

The Adventure Issue: A Call-out

Oh Comely's upcoming Summer issue is all about adventure. Whether lost on purpose or accidentally in love, we'll be talking about the adventures we plan for and the adventures we don't. If you have a story to tell, we want to hear from you.

For a chance to be featured in our pages, send a 100 word pitch and two writing samples* to words@ohcomely.co.uk by Friday 8th April. 

Good luck! We can't wait to go on an adventure with you. 

Image: Derek Abraham

*Please note that we do not accept poetry as a writing sample. Read our full submission guidelines here. 

Women Who Changed the World: Claude Cahun

Welcome to the third installment of our March mini-series on women who changed the world with their creativity. This week, we'd like you to meet one of our favourite artists, Claude Cahun. 

“My opinion on homosexuality and homosexuals is exactly the same as my opinion on heterosexuality and on heterosexuals: everything depends on the individuals and on the circumstances. I uphold people’s rights to behave as they wish.” 

Revealing whichever persona she felt like exploring, Claude Cahun’s self-portrait photographs challenged gender norms in early twentieth century Europe. In one image, she appears bald-headed, steely-eyed and suited. In another, she contorts limbs and tumbles from a cabinet full of homewares like a doll.

Relocating to the Channel Islands just before the second world war, Cahun instigated a resistance movement against the Nazi invasion, working alongside her lifelong partner Marcel Moore. As the pair repeatedly placed anti-fascist leaflets in coat pockets and on table tops, the occupying soldiers became convinced that a secret resistance group was operating on the island. Eventually they were sentenced to death for their characteristically subversive, artistic and defiant act.

Though the order was never carried out, their art was destroyed. Today they share a plot at St Brelade’s church in Jersey—entwined beneath the ground upon which they raised hell.

More information about Claude's extraordinary life can be found in Claude Cahun: Disavowals by Claude Cahun. Our extended selection of female muses to learn about and love features in Issue 29, alongside Cristina BanBan's beautiful illustrations. Inside, we also pluck pennies from pavements, watch caterpillars burst from cocoons, and talk personal turning points. Get your hands on a copy here!

Illustration: Cristina BanBan

Women Who Changed the World: Audre Lorde

The twenty-ninth edition of Oh Comely celebrates change in all forms. Every Wednesday for the next four weeks, we'll be showcasing women who changed the world with their creativity, starting with Audre Lorde.

“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.”

Audre identified as a “black feminist lesbian mother poet” not only because she happened to be all of those things, but because girls born to Caribbean migrants in 1930s Harlem weren’t encouraged to carve out identities all their own.

Entering the world partially blind and with initial learning difficulties, Audre penned her own unapologetic stanzas from around the age of twelve and went on to publish sixteen revelatory works on the nature of identity, whether enforced or chosen. Living her truth in a society fearful of difference, she established herself as a champion of the civil rights and women’s movements, laying bare the interlocking nature of oppression. Towards the end of her fourteen-year battle with cancer, she took the name Gamba Adisa in an African naming ceremony. It translates as, “warrior: she who makes her meaning known.”

You can find more of Cristina BanBan's beautiful illustrations of women who changed the world in Issue 29. Inside, we also pluck pennies from pavements, watch caterpillars burst from cocoons, and talk personal turning points. Get your hands on a copy here! More information about Audre's life and legacy can be found in Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde. 

Illustration: Cristina BanBan

Recipe Friday: A (Slightly) Naughtier Version of Deliciously Ella's Cannellini Bean Stew

Deliciously Ella's Cannellini Bean Stew is my party trick. By adding just a few extra ingredients to her kitchen-cupboard recipe, I've fooled colleagues, family and friends into believing I'm a kitchen whizz despite the fact I've never baked in my my twenty-two years (ever) and survive largely on cereal eaten straight from the box while standing up. 

The best thing about this winter warmer is its versatility. Served with rosemary roasties and all the trimmings, it's won the hearts of die-hard carnivores expecting a Sunday bird. Paired with nachos and a sprinkling of cheddar, it's consoled friends struck down by flu. It works wonderfully with Ella's suggestion of marinated kale, avocado and brown rice, but it's equally lovely served alone with a slather of crusty bread or a dollop of buttered sweet potato mash. It's also my lunchbox saviour - livening up sad jacket potatoes and the simplest of desktop salads.

For the Stew

1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes (drained weight of 150g)

1 onion (chopped)

2x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

2x 400g tins of cannellini beans

1x 400g of butter beans (optional)

2 heaped tablespoons of tahini

1 teaspoon of ground chilli

3x cloves of garlic

2x heaped tablespoons of cumin seeds (toasted)

1.5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 

salt and pepper

1 bunch of corriander (to serve, optional)

2x fresh limes (to serve, optional)

One. Start by toasting the cumin seeds in a frying pan on a low heat. 

Two. When the seeds start to smell delicious and turn a little darker in colour, throw in the chopped onion and garlic. Add one tablespoon of olive oil and leave to fry until the onions have softened and browned. 

Three. In the meantime, pour the beans into a colander, rinse with water and drain before adding to the frying pan. Repeat this step for the sundried tomatoes, then add the tinned tomatoes, tahini and chilli. Leave to stew until hot. Our tahini serving is more liberal than Ella's and gives a nuttier taste, because we're sesame addicts. Add a pinch of salt (maldon flakes are best) and a crack of black pepper. 

Four. Ellla leaves hers for just a few minutes and serves immediately. While this meal is an excellent quick fix, I find it tastes even yummier when left to thicken for at least half an hour. I personally like to add a flash of green goodness to every meal, so I garnish with a heap of zesty corriander and a generous squeeze of fresh lime. Voilà!

Original recipe and image by Ella Woodward of Deliciously Ella. Ella's second book, Deliciously Ella Every Day: Simple recipes and fantastic food for a healthy way of life is out now and published by Yellow Kite. 

The Oh Comely Wishlist: Ten Swoon-Worthy Valentine's Treats

With Valentine's day fast approaching, we've selected ten swoon-worthy treats. Featuring: cheese once harnessed by French maidens to lure handsome soldiers, lobster biscuits, handcrafted hearts and playful playing cards. There's something for everyone to love. 

One. Win affection with Coeur-shaped cheese.

Hailing from Neufchatel in Northern Normandy, the Coeur de Neufchatel is the richer, more sentimental cousin of the humble Camenbert. According to local legend, this heart-shaped cheese was given to English conquerers by maidens residing in the town throughout the Hundred Years War. Tie a bow, pack a knife, and picnique beneath the stars. 

Coeur de Neufchatel Cheese, £5.90 a piece, Clarks Speciality Foods

Two.  Boil a love brew.

Whether you're crafting breakfast in bed for a long-term love or locking eyes with an office crush, few things are greater appreciated than a cup of tea brewed just how they like it. Falcon's enamel pot is the perfect sharing size, and comes in a striking Pillarbox Red. Made from porcelain fused onto heavy-gauge steel -- it might chip, but it won’t break, no matter how hard you drop it. If only relationships were that durable. 

Pillarbox Red Teapot, £22, Falcon. 

Three. Admit they drive you Swayze.

This card requires no explaination, but your valentine's reaction to it can act as a strong indicator of things to come. If they don't appreciate the pun, perhaps it's doomed. 

Patrick Swayze Card, £3.50, Urban Outfitters

Four. Come out of your shell

Contrary to urban legend, lobsters don't mate for life.Though their monogamy lasts for mere weeks at a time, female lobsters have to shed their shell before they mate, rendering themselves somewhat vulnerable. If you've been hiding your feelings for a while, why not make like a lobster and come clean this year?

Personalised Lobster Biscuit, £22, Biscuiteers.

Five. Hang a heart around your neck.

Kate Rowland hand-draws adorable motifs before carving them into plywood. Her range features everything from feminist brooches to tiny paint palettes via space rockets and Twin Peaks tributes. Our personal favourite is this delicate pair of heartwarming hands.

Holding My Heart Necklace, £15, Kate Rowland

Six. Get love sick to your stomach. 

Jessie Cave's Lovesick is the perfect anti-Valentine's Valentines gift for the maddeningly adorable cynic in your life. Each illustration in the book explores the writer's most neurotic love sick thoughts. Hilarious, and highly relatable. Especially if you're currently waiting for a text. 

Love Sick by Jessie Cave, £9.99, Urban Outfitters. Read our interview with Jessie here. 

Seven. Inhale possibility.

Evermore and Darley Avenue collaborate to release this hand-poured soy candle just in time for February 14th. Phthalate-free peony fragrance is delicate and romantic, whilst peppermint essential oil provides a refreshing top note to lift and energise. Guaranteed to have you swooning for Spring and all the possibility it brings. 

Peony and Peppermint Candle, £24, Evermore

Eight. Time for a rub down.

A towel may not be a conventional cupid's gift, but why give chocolates when Drye's Towel in a Tin collection is so gorgeous and cosy? Few would be able to resist, and you'll score points for originality.

Run a bath, wrap up. Towel in a Tin, £28, Drye

Nine. Personalised watercolours.

If you're looking to make a bold statement of commitment this year, why not send a photo of you and your beau to Viktorija of Andsmile Studio? She'll recreate your love in gorgeous strokes of watercolour and pencil, so you can hang it on the wall forever. 

Customised Couple Portrait, £70, AndSmile Studio

Ten. Share a deck of cards

An old-fashioned card game is a great ice breaker, and Oh Comely's exclusive pack designed by Brooklyn maker Kaye Blegvad are gorgeously playful. Challenge your crush to a game of poker, and let fireworks fly.

Playful Playing Cards, £8, The Oh Comely Shop

New Year, New Space: Revitalising your Home Office with Moonko

The makers at Sheffield's emporium of handmade wonders Moonko are great believers in Van Gogh's observation that “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”

Inspired by their musings, we've selected a number of small items which can revitalise your office space (and mood!) in surprisingly significant ways.

1. Start as you mean to go on...

The White Rabbit was notorious for his poor time keeping. This beautifully illustrated calendar won't stop you from daydreaming of Wonderland, but it will help keep you on track. 

2016 Alice in Wonderland Calendar with original illustrations by Anna Bond, £25.00, Moonko. 

2. Revitalise your space with geometric shapes and plants...

Changes of scenery are good for the soul, and small tweaks in how you present your belongings can make the world of difference. This Wall Display can be used as a simple decoration or as a display case for potted plants and cacti, notebooks or jewellery.  

Euclid Triangle Glass Wall Mount Large, Handmade by Monti, £75, Moonko. 

3. Keep your desk tidy...

Keep everything to hand ready for sudden bursts of inspiration. This box features four useful compartments, which is great for organising your belongings or creating a beautiful display.

Copper Open Divider, £25.00, Moonko. 

4. Motivate yourself with affirmations...

A throroughly grown-up version of the motivational posters plastered across school gyms everywhere. Affirmations may feel silly, but can brighten spaces and the moods of those who dwell in them. 

Bees Knees Print by Anna Bond, £20.65, Moonko.  

5. Match your scent to the mood you seek...

Scents are an important element to consider when building a space to match a mood. The sweet citrus aroma of lemongrass is known for its cleansing and rejuvenating qualities, making it perfect for rainy days at the home office. 

Large Lemograss Classic Candle by Nathalie Bond Organics, £25, Moonko. 

All Images: Moonko

*This post was sponsored by Moonko.

In Conversation with Director Ariel Kleiman

Told through the eyes of Alexander (Jeremy Chabriel), an eleven year old on the cusp of discovering his own moral compass, Ariel Kleiman's debut film Partisan is a cautionary tale about the effects dogma can have on vulnerable minds.

Alexander's father Gregori (Vincent Cassel) is a charismatic ringleader of a closed community made up of eight seemingly abandoned mothers and their offspring. Children are shielded from the dangers of the outside world and warned that curiosity can create vicious fires. Denied permission to wander, they barely leave Gregori's side, except when he sends them out on assassination missions.

Although extreme, at its heart Partisan is a story about the inevitable moment when every child realises the adults around them are fundamentally flawed. It's heartbreaking and quietly fantastic.

We sat down with Ariel to talk about innocence lost, growing pains, and casting Vincent Cassel as the lead in his first feature.

What inspired you to create Partisan?

The original spark came from an article in the New York Times about child assassins in Colombia. Everything I’ve made has been inspired by an image, and in this case it was literally the image of a child gunning down a man. Not only was it disturbing, it was so surreal and absurd. I immediately knew I wanted to turn that gut reaction into a film, but I didn’t feel I was the right person to make that specific story about Colombia. What I was more interested in was the human drama behind the crime: the tragedy of adults passing their insecurities and fears onto children.

The film has an ambiguity that adds an almost magical element. You don’t state where it’s set, or in which time period. Why leave those details out?

I didn’t see this movie as being a realist work. I wanted it to feel more like a myth, or a fable. A lot of fables use extreme characters and stories to tell tales about very ordinary things. At most points, for example, Gregori is incredibly paternally motivated. That’s what Vincent connected with most in the script: many of Gregori's anxieties and motivations are scarily relatable.

Another big inspiration was the decision to tell the story from Alexander’s perspective. He’s growing up with blinkers on. Like any child experiences, as you grow up the blinkers slowly widen, and it can be a mind-altering experience, realising that the adults in your life are just people too.

It was great to see Jeremy Chabriel, this tiny person, holding his own against an actor like Cassel. How did you find him?

That was really daunting. When I wrote the script, I was pretty naive. Then it got to a point where I thought, “Shit, how are we going to find this boy?!” He’s the hero of the film, he's in pretty much every scene, and he has to go up against Vincent. We knew we needed someone remarkable and ended up finding Jeremy through a French school in Sydney. He’s a very sensitive young man. He’d never acted before and his audition tape was shot on a really average camera, but his eyes just kind of glowed and he held himself with this real maturity.

The other child actors weren’t all stretched in quite the same way, but as director you still had to communicate the story to them. Given the difficult nature of the film, how did you accomplish that?

Jeremy read the whole screenplay and knew what was happening, but we mainly kept the other children away from the themes. They were all so different, each with their own big imagination and personality. One girl would hug my leg every morning and wouldn’t let go, and there was another who was always asking when he was going to get more lines. Overall the girls were very easy to work with, very professional. The boys, on the other hand, were mainly troublemakers, pouncing around the place.

What was your thinking behind commissioning musicians like Jarvis Cocker and Metronomy to record original faux 1980s pop songs?

When we wrote the script and started to shoot the film it just didn't feel right to use pop songs that existed in our world, because people have existing memories associated with them. The setting is constructed as this nowhere land, so we went about crafting pop songs that would have been hits in our no man’s land, pop classics that no one has ever heard of. I basically made a list of artists I’d love to see tackle that brief, and amazingly, some of them said yes.

One of those numbers, “The Hardest Thing To Do”, is sung by Alexander at karaoke. The music video made for it is so much fun to watch – so ridiculous and reflective of 80s styling. Where did the idea come from?

I got a good friend who I knew could bring the cheese to make those videos. We talked a lot about a need to make them feel realistic.

The karaoke scene in the film was actually inspired by my travels in Asia. We were travelling through Vietnam and were lucky enough to be invited over for dinner by a Vietnamese family. After dinner, they had this ritual where they all huddle around the TV to sing karaoke. The kids sang with such sincerity and deep emotion. These songs were about love and heartbreak and whatever adult pop songs are about, but somehow it was incredibly powerful.

What was Vincent like on set? Partisan is your first feature film, so working with such an established actor must have felt exciting?

He was a nightmare. Really difficult and arrogant.

No, he’s a special, special guy. The second he came on set, you felt the energy of the whole crew shift. Everyone wanted to be at the top of their game, and he made everyone feel more confident. I’ve seen him portray menace and threat and foreboding, and he does do all of that effortlessly, but some of my favourite moments of him on-screen are tender and vulnerable. Those sad, insecure moments. The way he brought those aspects of Gregori’s character to life was really something.

Partisan is released in U.K. cinemas on 8th January.

Images: Metrodome

Oh Comely's Favourite Makers To Look Out For in 2016

Take a peek inside our delightful directory, where we've curated products crafted by our favourite independent brands to watch in 2016. We've thrown in some exclusive reader discount codes, too. Happy January!

1. Girl & Bird

Bristol's Girl & Bird add a personal touch to every day items using vintage maps. Choose from popular locations or your own special place to create a tiny piece of the world to hold in your hands. 

Above: Cushion covers, from £24

* Oh Comely readers get 10% discount until 21st Jan using the code 'ohcomely' 

2. Origami-est

From decorative diamonds, baubles and lampshades, Origami-est breathes new life into the ancient Japanese tradition. Feast your eyes on gorgeous pre-designed palattes in their collection, or get your craft on at one of their workshop.

Above: Party Diamonds, £4.50.

3. Super Duper Things

Super Duper Things is an independent one-stop stationery shop worth swooning over. With a beautiful collection spanning books, prints and kits adorned with original graphics, you're sure to find something to love.

Above: Comissionable Sailing Boat and Mountains Prints , from £10.17

* For 10% off, enter 'OHWINTER10' at the checkout

4. Just Trade

Just Trade's bespoke jewellrey is produced by eight groups of artisans hailing from Peru, Ecuador and India. They provide design training and a long-term route for global makers to market their goods.

Above: Alexandra Bangle, £30

* Enter 'OHCOMELY' at the checkout for 10% off

Images (Top - Bottom): Girl & Bird, Origami-est, Super Duper Things, Just Trade

This post was sponsored by the brands in our delightful directory.

Dressed as a Girl: In Conversation with London Drag Legend Jonny Woo

words Aimee-Lee Abraham

2nd October 2015

Today marks the release of Colin Rothbart’s fly-on-the-wall documentary of London’s East London drag scene: Dressed as a Girl. In its depiction of the dizzying highs and devastating lows encountered along the way to cult superstardom, the film is unflinchingly honest, capturing a world where Queens fight to pretend “everything is fabulous… and no one is ill” while battling an array of personal and collective demons.

Having been at the forefront of the Shoreditch scene for over twenty years, Jonny Wooacts both as the film’s narrator and a primary subject. We sat down with him ahead of the frockumentary’s release to talk about drag, debauchery and the families we choose. Spoiler: it turns out they’re just as dysfunctional as the ones we’re born into.

Six years’ worth of footage was condensed into just two hours, and the narrative jumps very quickly from hilarity to heartache. How was it for you to watch yourself developing on-screen in such a measurable and visceral way?

For all of us there’s a great deal of revelation, especially with the benefit of hindsight. What’s great about the film is that it’s real; people aren’t trying to act up or be relentlessly positive for the camera. It’s not a sycophantic representation of drag that tries to falsely portray us as one big happy family. Thereis a real sense of camaraderie and community running throughout the scene, but the people within it exist as complex beings. Their relationships change and ebb and flow. There’s ambition, there’s disappointment, there’s friendship, and there are strains on those friendships. It’s messy.

It made for pretty difficult viewing at times.

Some parts are uncomfortable to watch. I felt like I was on trial at the premiere, up to be judged by a hundred people. Ultimately the film only presents a snapshot of each of our personalities, and we knew what was coming when we granted Colin access to our lives. We accept that as his subjects. The presentation is fair but it’s not wholly rounded. Certain segments make me wince, but when you look back on life as a whole it can all be a bit cringe-worthy. Audiences have appreciated that honesty so far.

Despite the conflict you’ve mentioned, there was a real sense of solidarity, and it was touching to see you all raising funds for Amber to have gender re-assignment surgery. On film we see some members of the public scoff at the validity of the cause, but it was such a transformative and redemptive experience for her.

Exactly. On screen it’s all dressed up as bit of outrageous fun, which it was, but these are real fundraisers with the power to affect real lives. Of course there are more pressing issues in the world, but if we want to raise money to help out a friend in need then that’s absolutely our business.

Dressed as a Girl goes beyond the humour and superficiality featured in glamorous mainstream shows like Ru-Paul’s Drag Race. Do you think it serves up an alternative version of the art form?

We all enjoy the liberation of dressing up, but we don’t all have this big, instantaneous personality change the moment the drag goes on, which you sometimes see in more mainstream drag. What characterises our drag is that you see the person underneath. The make-up and hair goes on and it generally falls off before the night is over, leaving you half made-up and half undone. You’re exposed, and the real person and the artifice are all kind of mixed together.

The film frequently references personal tragedy and substance abuse: Scottee reveals that his mother once stopped to pick up whisky while driving him to hospital in the middle of an asthma attack, and you discuss your own battles with alcohol. How has your life changed since sobriety?

It’s a miracle that I managed to do what I did for so long. I used to come home on a Monday morning and hibernate until Thursday. I was absolutely living for the weekend, I didn’t know how to stop, and I eventually suffered multiple organ failure. I don’t drink or do drugs any more and I have so much more time to keep up with my career and the business.

What’s next for you?

I have a few ongoing projects. As well as co-managing The Glory, I’m doing a rock-theatre show based around Lou Reed’s Transformeralbum and I have my East London Lecture which, to put simply, explores gentrification in the area.

As someone who has lived in East London for twenty years, are you nostalgic about the way things used to be?

I have this big hang-up with what I think is the overuse of the word 'gentrification’. I remember sitting in Geography class when I was fourteen learning about how it was just a natural evolution that occurred within urban settings, and change is certainly synonymous with the area. I don’t think East London has lost its sense of individualism or its sense of community. You only have to walk through London Fields or Victoria Park to see the an entire cross-section of the city enjoying the same beautiful facilities. The parks here really are the most fantastic things. They’re melting pots. I am proud to be a Londoner, and even prouder to be giving back through the business.

Dressed as a Girl is out in cinemas now, and released on DVD and On-Demand on the 7th of December from Peccadillo Pictures.