Last week we hosted the first of our Table Talks – which include wine, delicious nibbles and fabulous conversation around the table, talking about all things books, travel and life journeys.
We were thrilled to welcome authors Karen McLeod and Travis Elborough to discuss Karen’s new book Lifting off.
Lifting Off: A Life in Freefall by Karen McLeod
Karen McLeod’s account of flying as long-haul cabin crew offers a fascinating insight into the profound impact of airline life. Having come out as a lesbian shortly before getting the job, she is forced to go back in as colleagues advise her that it’s not OK to be gay, unlike male cabin crew. Lifting Off is a fly on the wall tale of flying long-haul, drinking miniatures, hotel bedroom parties with the rest of the crew, one-night stands in exotic locations and the loneliness of having to deny your true self. It is the story of how Karen McLeod saved herself and finally came into land.
Lifting Off came out of trying to write that difficult second novel. Karen realised she had to confront her past before she could write creatively again.
In the 1990s Karen had begun performing as a drag queen, impersonating men impersonating women. This was found to be too unorthodox even on the drag scene so Karen created Barbara who is the inverse of mainstream drag. She hides her hair, makes her legs unflattering in pop socks and wears a shapeless cagoule. The Sunday Times described Barbara as ‘Rik Mayall meets performance art’ and she is now a regular across the UK gay cabaret, literary and comedy community
‘An absorbing and often hilarious account of the author’s 12 years as closeted cabin crew for BA & the profound impact that had on her life as a gay woman’ The Bookseller, Editor’s Choice
‘Beautiful, wise and funny…I really did love it’ Evie Wyld
‘Witty, irreverent, deeply felt and exquisitely written…I can’t recommend this memoir enough. Stunning’ Joelle Taylor
About the speakers:
Karen McLeod is writer in residence at independent bookseller, The Bookseller Crow on the Hill and a visiting lecture in creative writing at UCAS. She performs comedy as Barbara Brownskirt and regularly works with Polari the LGBTQ+ Literary Salon.
Travis Elborough
Described by the Guardian as ‘one of the country’s finest pop culture historians’, Travis Elborough is the author of many books, including Wish You Were Here: England on Sea, The Long-Player Goodbye, Through the Looking Glasses: The Spectacular Life of Spectacles and Atlas of Vanishing Places, winner of Edward Stanford Travel Book Award in 2020.
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