My name’s in chalk

Drag has taken me to some crazy destinations and I am always surprised how well others take the whole -˜man in a dress’, most with open arms.
Our latest adventure takes DIVA legend and original Les Girl Monique Kelly and me every Thursday to the Belmont Hotel for a good dose of adults-only karoake.
Belmont is 20 minutes from Newcastle.
The ritual begins every Thursday -” up early to get our usual jobs completed, then on goes the make-up, followed by a journey of close to two hours. Our driver scoops us up in the hire car and we’re off, through peak hour traffic.
It’s about 6pm when we arrive at the hotel. After a quick dinner, Monique and I frock up and head to the auditorium. Sneaking to the dressing room, we spy some punters straining to see us slink in. Many are so excited to see the show, they have booked dinner and a room for the night.
The karaoke night has singers who torture you with the same songs each week. A special note has to go out to a regular, Billy, who is terrible, decked out in acid wash jeans, worn heavy metal shirt, complete with a bandana. He consistently delights us with awful renditions of classics all night long.
Billy even found love at karaoke last week, joining forces with a Muriel’s Wedding mum look-a-like, decked out in a full-length knitted dress. Such a beautiful couple, though a little less pashing at the edge of the stage would have help concentration.
As soon as the last singer has sung, we say goodbye, the goop is washed off and we are back in the car heading to Sydney.
When we tell people we are working in Belmont, most react with What?
It’s a pleasant surprise that when you leave the big smoke, it’s not as scary as many would believe. They are just the same as us, not including Billy of course.
If you’re near Belmont on a Thursday night, come say hi. You can’t miss us -” our names are up in chalk out the front. (You’ve made it when it’s in chalk.)