“I’m just waiting to go in, see Dame Edna”
“Oh right, what’s the show called?”
“Farewell Tour, it’s his (her) last one”
“Don’t they all say that, and then they come back a few years later?”
“Possibly, but I do think he’s getting on a bit now.”


A very quick stop off in Leeds today, and I spotted Nicola as I was making my way down to the centre of town. She was stood outside the Grand Theatre, away from the groups of gathered people. I’m not sure why I assumed that because she was alone, she must work at the venue. It turned out, that she was there to see Barry Humphries aka Dame Edna.

She was smoking a cigarette so I said I’d chat with her while she finished. The conversation fell straight onto tattoos, quite obviously, because of the prominent one across her chest.

“It’s from Day of the Dead”
“The film?”
“No (laugh). It’s a Mexican festival, where the dead are celebrated. If you Google ‘Day of the Dead Cat’ you’ll know what I mean.”

I haven’t been able to find the significance of the cat, having Googled that exact phrase but I’m determined to find out so I’ll keep looking…

Post-Edit: I received a message from Nicola just now asking that I subtitle her picture with the following quote: "I am disabled. But it's invisible. My brain has malfunctioned. But my heart hasn't. I believe in my heart. It keeps me strong. It's made me who i am today."

I thought it was both profound, and beautiful.

Humans of Leeds