Luv2play

Except I understand that Haulover Beach in North Miami still has a gay clothing optional beach. No such beach in Ftl.

One shouldn't confuse the cost of jewelry with its value, particularly if it belonged to a personage of world wide fame. I had a friend who was with a private bank in Geneva in 1987, when the first auction of the Duchess of Windsor's jewelry was being held. He went there to bid on behalf of the bank's clients, the Banque Privee de Geneve, owned by a Rothschild. He was a young and relatively inexperienced banker and came away astounded by the bids that were being made, as they invariably went over by substantial amounts of the pre-bid estimates. The same happened when Jackie Onassis's possessions were put up for auction a decade or so later. In the latter case, a lot of the stuff was "junk" but considered "magic" as Jackie had owned it. Also Edward VIII got a lot of jewelry for Wallis while he was Prince of Wales and for the short time he was king. Some of it was from the Royal family. There are stories that when Edward was still Prince of Wales and started dating Mrs. Simpson, her husband being conveniently absent in New York City where he had a business, she showed up with stunning diamond jewelry and other gems. She certainly made an impression at receptions and dinner parties, whose guests knew she had no private fortune of her own. During this period he had access to the Royal vaults, which was not the case after 1936. One of the top priced items was a diamond and ruby necklace he gave her while he was king for her 40th birthday, which went for $2.4 million, which today would be over $5 million. Admittedly, the baubles Edward bought after the marriage at Cartier did not come cheap but many cost only in the range of 10's of thousands of dollars, which 40 years later commanded prices at auction in the hundreds and even millions of dollars for the best of individual pieces. During the 1940's and 50's, $10,000 would buy a nice house in America in most cities. If you follow these things, as I sometimes do, the Royal family often sells casts offs from their family at auction, such as a decade or so ago when a lot of Princess Margaret's things went up for sale. The prices fetched were fabulous as Meg had the requisite glamour. More recently, stuff from Queen Mary was auctioned off, as a friend of mine bought a large piece of furniture from her estate. She paid 4 or 5 times the actual value of the antique and it came with an impressive parchment certificate from Sotheby's proving its provenance. You are right though that Edward was no cheapskate when it came to buying gifts for his wife "the woman I love", for whom he gave up the throne.

I read that at the time that Dodi had purchased the house but it is true the Windsor's only rented it. They did own a mill in France where the Duke liked to garden. The Royal family was stingy with the Duke and the couple always felt financially precarious which is why they never picked up the tab when out dining with friends.

That sounds more likely. Such a scene would not be in the Catcher.

Beware jacuzzi jets. Years ago I was at the gym of a university that was near my home and found myself relaxing after a workout by taking a jacuzzi. It was men only so no bathing suits required. The jacuzzi jets was near my rear end and felt pleasant massaging my butt so I got closer to it. Well too close, as it turned out. All of a sudden the jet of hot water penetrated my anus like a super hot enema, only with great force. A wave of nausea overcame me and I almost passed out. Boy did I get out of there fast and into a cold shower.

My understanding of the events that night was that they were leaving the Ritz Hotel, which was owned by Jodi Fayed's father, to go to the house Jodi had just bought in Paris, that had once been the home of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in the Bois du Boulogne. I believe the driver was not Princess Diana's but Jodi's driver or he might have been an employee of the Ritz. He had been waiting a considerable time while the couple were having dinner at the hotel. During this time he had been drinking to pass the time, I suppose. Not at all professional, I admit. I don't think Diana was very familiar with him, as she would have been with her own driver. She did have the British body guard with her, though, the only one who survived (I assume he was hers but not sure of that). He should have paid more attention to the state of the driver, but I don't recall whether he was ever held blameworthy (he suffered immense head injuries and probably didn't remember much of the events just prior to the crash). I personally think Diana was the victim of circumstances beyond her control.

I think you have summed up the situation very well. You must be quite familiar with how the Monarchy functio I think your comments are spot on. The monarchy in Britain has been streamlining the Royal apparatus, if you want to call it that, for over a decade. The Queen is now paying taxes, the numbers of Royals on the "list" who receive free housing and other perks, are much reduced, and titles are not being handed out to all grandchildren willy-nilly, as they were in the days of Queen Victoria. Of course in those days, when there were royal families in most of Europe's countries, Queen Victoria was busy all her later life seeing that her progeny were suitably installed on thrones everywhere, whether allies or foes. The fact that Archie didn't get a title at birth was not a slight, in my view, in the context of the British monarchy trying to remold itself in the 21st century. When you think of it, only a generation or two ago, there were rigid rules about who could marry into the "Firm", as Harry and Megan refer to it. Lady Diana Spencer , Harry's mother, was not an outsider, even if not a Royal. Her family were ancient and illustrious nobles. Even Winston Churchill, a commoner but descendant of the Duke of Marlborough, was a Spencer (his middle name) Winston S. Churchill. Megan grew up in Los Angeles and would have faced discrimination in her youth. As her father stated the other day, California is not lacking in racism (he put it more directly). And he was a white man married to a Black woman. One would think she would have developed some coping mechanisms, even as we gay men have learned to cope, especially those of us who grew up before Stonewall. If Megan suffers from depression or other mental illnesses, then she should and can get help, especially now that she finds herself in Los Angeles. She won't be the first actress to go that route.

Am I right in saying she ended the song with “hahahaha”?

The Swiss are noted for their hospitality and you can experience it throughout the country. My favorite country after Canada, my own.

Chur, Switzerland is as remote as you can get in that relatively small country. I can't imagine he lives there.

What makes you say that?

To me he looks like the kinda guy that would occupy the top bunk, in more ways than one.

The great thing about the Vatican Museum is that it is full of pagan art from the Greek and Roman periods of antiquity. Lots of beautiful naked bodies. As Joni Mitchell sang, "They cut down all the trees and put them in a museum".

Lucky cell mates. if they swing that way.

I imagine this is going to send a shiver through the collective backs of the escort crowd in Ft. Lauderdale and even Miami. Even many NYC based escorts go there in the winter months. However it seems this escort in particular was running more than a personal services business on his own. The report in the newspaper said he was operating a training business under a corporate shell but that the taxes went back to him personally. It might have been his bricks and mortar business that attracted the attention in the first place. Still it's never good when an entire business sector is put under the spotlight by the tax authorities.

I didn't realize they had a Mob Museum in Vegas. That must be like the Vatican having their own museum. LOL

I was there the year earlier with two American friends. We hired guys most evenings, some from the bar that had escorts and some from an agency. We were staying at a luxurious villa in the suburbs. We also had a car and driver, who one of my friends took a shine to. He was a real hunk and was gay for pay. The restaurants were good as well. It was really a dream trip. Today I read an account of how badly the pandemic is going there. Really a tragedy. The country has gone into another lockdown with curfew and internal travel restrictions on March 1st for I think I read one month. They have the highest case loads in Europe and are sending patients to their neighbouring countries. I expect one couldn't go there now even if one wanted to and that is not the case anyway.

Seeing these guys reminds me of the great vacation I had in Prague many moons ago. I need to get back there but will wait till everyone is vaccinated, including myself.

Haha. I remember nights at the Black Eagle in Ftl when it would be raining like a monsoon. It was great fun in the back bar which was essentially a covered patio with plastic over wire fencing walls. With the wind the water would pour in and the half naked clients (and bartenders) would cavort in the puddles. The bartenders would often join in the fun. I remember one in particular, a tall slim guy with an enormous cock, who would let me service him. Such memories.

Totally understand that but Tiger had just left the place he was staying at the night before and was in a hurry to get to the golf club. I understand he was in such a hurry getting out of his parking lot that he almost ran into someone in his way.

I’ve been wearing a Citizen Eco Drive watch for about 4 years or so. I love it as it requires no battery or winding, just uses natural light to keep it going. It’s good looking too and not ostentatious. It says Titanium on its face but no clue what that means.

That early in the morning? I doubt it. Cell phone distraction? Quite possibly.

I second your sentiments. This latest news about his condition is very worrisome given his risk factors. Hope he is in good hands at the hospital.

Long enough to get my COVID shot. Lol.

I send my best wishes as well. I wasn’t active back when you were posting but understand from the other comments you were welcome to participate in our discussions here. I’m guessing we all share the same appreciation for male companionship so I hope you can surmount this health challenge and get back in the game soon. It sounds like you discovered this cancer when there is still hope for a recovery or effective treatment. It reminds us all that we need to keep on top of our health and having a medical checkup from time to time.