Licence To Queer

What a busy month in Bond! As well as May Day (honouring Grace Jones of course) there were two other bank holidays, one of which was for the King's coronation, which inspired the plot of the newest Bond book, On His Majesty's Secret Service. David chatted with Charlie Higson himself about it, both at the official London launch and on the LTQ podcast. David also co-hosted with Kim Sherwood a celebration of 70 years of the literary Bond, which was so successful that they are teaming up again soon (22nd July). David and Antony raised more than £1000 for UNICEF with Donate Another Day, which went quite a long way towards rehabilitating Die Another Day in the eyes of many who participated. Antony and David also found time to see a couple of Bond-related films at the cinema (Fast X, The Little Mermaid) and Antony read Fleming's Moonraker for the very first time, much to David's excitement. Finally, Antony and David look forward to the live streaming broadcast of Tazarauka Revue's 'Casino Royale - My Name is Bond' on 11th June, which they will be doing as a watchalong.

In this spoiler-filled chat, David Lowbridge-Ellis delves deeply into all aspects of On His Majesty’s Secret Service with its author, Charlie Higson. No topic is off limits. David and Charlie get stuck into the core of the thrilling story, exploring the real life inspirations for the villain and his dastardly plot. They also tackle the really important questions, such as: should we trust someone if they have a six pack which is “ridged like a Toblerone”? What was the inspiration for giving Bond a ‘friend with benefits’? What kind of underpants does 007 wear? And, perhaps most pressingly of all, why does eating fermented foods make one ‘woke’?

Listen to Charlie’s brilliant new podcast 'Willy Willy Harry Stee' wherever you get podcasts. In each weekly episode, Charlie gets together with a historian to tell the story of one of England’s kings and queens. By the end of the series, every monarch will have been covered. As I say in our chat, I found that the episodes so far have really helped me fill in gaps in my own historical knowledge. It’s strongly recommended.

The Fast and Furious films scratch many of the same itches as the Bond series. Is that why they're so successful? Antony and David give their thoughts about the latest installment in this superbly camp franchise, including its queer representation. Mild spoilers.

Kim Sherwood and David Lowbridge-Ellis celebrate 70 Years of Bond by getting together with an audience to talk all things Fleming. They start off by sharing their funny first encounters with the Bond books (both involved naked men as it happens!) before discussing the best order in which to read them. Kim and David get stuck into the subtle - and less subtle! - differences between the films and books, including the parts which readers unfamiliar with Fleming find surprising. David and Kim also read aloud some short excerpts from the novels, including their favourite character introductions (both choose their favourite ally and villain) and some of Fleming's fantastic descriptions. Kim and David invite audience contributions throughout - there were some fantastic questions posed!

There is also a video version of this event on the LTQ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09WNUhck0kQ

Participants had the option of having their cameras on and you will see some of these guests in the second half of the video.

Half of April was taken up with our trip to Japan and we won't repeat anything about that here (see our three previous episodes for that). But even in the latter two weeks of the month, there has been a lot of Bond action, including our preparations for joining His Majesty's Secret Service (the Coronation and the new novel by Charlie Higson) and our big fundraiser for the year: Donate Another Day. We talk through the event, including what to expect, what to drink and (courtesy of Bond food expert and author Edward Biddulph) what to eat. We also discuss the importance of Bank Holidays and Bond - and Antony finally commits to watching Never Say Never Again after years of David trying to persuade him.

The Japanese assignment continues with a mission report from the world’s busiest train station. Antony and David relate their remaining Tokyo adventures, including cherry blossom viewings and visiting a location from The Wolverine (2013). 

Their next report comes from aboard a ‘Romance Express’ (like the one referred to by Tanaka in the novel of You Only Live Twice) travelling from Kyoto to Osaka. Before getting there, they share what it was like to stay in a traditional Japanese inn (as Ian Fleming did when researching Thrilling Cities). They also talk about how they found Kyoto, including its gorgeous temples and gardens (not of the poisonous variety) and ‘all the shrines in the world’.

After all of these spiritual experiences, they head for the extreme contrast: Universal Studios in Osaka. While queuing to buy lunch in Super Nintendo World, they talk about different fandoms and speculate about what a 007 theme park might be like.

Finally, they discuss public bathing Japanese-style (as in, completely naked), the Japanese musical of Casino Royale, a visit to Himeji Castle (the ninja training school from You Only Live Twice), taking the fastest bullet train back to Tokyo, finding the best Martinis in Tokyo Disneyland and how they managed to have a Bondian adventure on a reasonable budget.

Recorded live in the reception area of my hotel in Osaka, Japan this is a conversation with Eisuke Ochiai (@inspiredbybond on Instagram). We talk about Bond's place in Japanese culture before launching into our experiences with 'Casino Royale - My Name is Bond', a unique theatrical experience: not only is it the first stage musical of a James Bond story but it is performed by an all female cast, Takarazuka Revue, entirely in Japanese. How well did I (not a Japanese speaker) understand the story? What were our favourite elements? What were the completely bizarre parts which we never saw coming?! Listen on to find out!

Recorded in Heathrow airport and two very different bars in Tokyo. Starting off their trip to Japan (for both their wedding anniversary and Antony's birthday), Antony and David sip Negronis in the departure lounge while giving their perspective on Bond travel, including how to do it on a budget. After arriving in Tokyo, they have more cocktails in a key location from You Only Live Twice and finish their first night at a women-centric bar called Gold Finger, where they interview the owner about her love of James Bond and what it's like to be LGBTQ+ in Japan.

David and Antony discuss Michelle Yeoh's Oscar win, the 70th anniversary Fleming controversy, the first 007GB Club meet up, 40th anniversaries of Octopussy and Never Say Never Again, bumping into Aaron Taylor-Johnson (and THAT Calvin Klein photoshoot!), seeing Bond alumni in Jumpin' Jack Flash. This month's cocktail (which they make live) is a new one: the Wai Lin, which is one of the cocktails featured in the 2023 LTQ UNICEF fundraiser, Donate Another Day.

It has never made logical sense for Bond to choose a train over a plane, but that hasn’t stopped the 007 series making sleeper trains synonymous with romance and excitement. Why fly when you can travel by rail?

David relates his and his husband's recent experience on a sleeper train (The Caledonian Sleeper) and compare it with Bond's experiences in the films and books.