Isn't it great when you go shopping and see someone internationally famous in your local supermarket? Of course, it depends on your idea of internationally famous. I suspect many of my readers will not have heard of John Barnes but he was a famous Liverpool and England footballer and is now a TV pundit. He lives very near us. On Friday he passed us in the supermarket with a little girl in his arms – his fifteen moth old daughter? Now some of you may find that unremarkable but if it had been one of our other neighbours with his brother I'm sure all of you would have gone – Wow! Mike McGear of The Scaffold (real name Peter Michael McCartney), the brother of Paul, lives near us. What famous folk live near you?
I don't normally bother pinching things from other people's blogs because it seems to me that so many of my readers also read the blogs of my blogging friends. But I have to let asnyone who hasn't seen it have Adrian's comment on the snow at Heathrow airport. “A spokesman for Heathrow airport was interviewed and he proudly stated that as a precaution he had cancelled a third of all flights. This, to avoid any disruption to travel!………….Is it me? Or is he a complete lunatic?” Perhaps they are going to close the motorways to save any disruption to road traffic....
I keep commenting that there are so many books to read and so little time. I now have a TBR (To Be Read) list that stretches over four pages of closely written A4 and half the books on my shelves waiting my attention aren't even on it. One of the issues is that every book ever written has its admirer's and I can't help but be inspired to read them when I find someone eulogising about them.
Bibliophiliac has just blogged about the wonderful prose in The Great Gatsby. This is a book I've read twice. I didn't enjoy it the first time (aged 16) and so tried it again in my twenties thinking perhaps my view may have changed. It hadn't but now I feel inspired to read it a third time. Anyone who can write “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther....And one fine morning---” deserves another try.
Another blogging friend has just brought my attention to postcrossing. It looks like fun so I am already enrolled and have a couple of postcards written and ready to go on their way. I suspect that the return rate is not particularly high but we shall see. To quote my fellow blogling “I truly am a geek, but apparently I am in good company since they have over 288,000 members in 201 countries. I'll let you know when I get my first postcard! Where will it come from I wonder?”
No-one famous living in my area, as far as I know, and to be honest, I wouldn't be impressed if they were. Instead, I'd just let them go about their day-to-day stuff like everybody else.
ReplyDeleteIn the summer of 2010, I spent a memorable afternoon on a river boat in France, on the Avignon, in the very pleasant company of Chris DeBurgh and his most charming family. Of course I did not tell him that I never liked his music. Instead, we just talked, watching the beautiful landscape pass as our boat floated along the river.
I love your Hebridean Blog, even if you don't post there very often. I love far off, deserted places, or places far away from anywhere else. I think I should have been a hermit.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of famous people living near us being in southern California and a much nicer setting than L.A. But we don't see them. They live in big, fancy houses hidden in groves of trees. Though we did once see Tina Turner at a gas station, and once in a while someone famous in an airport. In fact we once sat about 12 feet from Madeline Albright in an airport Red Carpet Lounge. She was easy to identify both by looks and voice. It was after her term in office was over. (Wasn't she Secretary of State or something?)
Thanks for your nice comments about my painting. How I would love to go back but be 20 years younger!
About the Kassettenkinder: it's almost like babyboomers because it's people of a fairly specific age, 30-35 today. We listened obsessively to those tapes (I drove my grandfather nuts by listening to the same St Clare tape about 20 times a day) and many still have theirs.
ReplyDeleteFamous people, hm. There are quite a few in Hamburg. I'm a Goth and there are some famous musicians connected to that scene who live here, even go to the clubs their fans go to and usually, they are not bothered at all, no hysterics or something.
I once saw Derek Jacobi in London and I have to admit I was totally starstruck. I managed to keep my Omigod, Derek Jacobi-reaction to myself or I probably would have freaked the poor man out. I have no idea how used he is to squeeing fangirls (think Twilight fangirl) and that's definitely what I was at that moment. It seems even my celebrity crushes are geeky.
Sorry about the nightmares: sounds very curious to me. I love the 'rambles' that you are posting these days. I read The Great Gatsby in my 20s as well. I can't even recall what I thought of it. Can't have been too bad because I think it's still on the loft bookshelves. It had a grey cover!
ReplyDeleteCJ, just read the comment you left on Librarian's site:
ReplyDelete"May your results always be negative and your thoughts always be positive."
What a great thought! :0)
Hugs, Carol
Bill Gates of Microsoft is our most famous local Eastside resident, but I don't think he spends much time at the supermarket!
ReplyDeleteare you having a big party to celebrate with the Queen. Do you time William will be the next king?
ReplyDeleteI still have one or two penfriends abroad whom I originally got to know randomly or at least half-randomly through "friendship books" that were passed around among penpals. This was before the internet took over as a quicker way of making friends around the world.
ReplyDeleteI'll send you a postcard if you email me your address! (but of course it won't be quite random)
Not someone I would recognise but I am sure hubby would.
ReplyDeleteHeathrow - mixed feelings. The snow was bad as we know having got stuck and almost stranded in Epping Forest over night.
Quite a lot to read here.
Ann, I'm not asure who will be the next king - I suspect it will depend when Queen Elizabeth dies. I'm sure that iof Charkes is still alive he'll be the next monarch.
ReplyDeleteI expect there will be lots of street parties but since our road is nearly all old people I doubt we'll have one. Street parties tend to be for the children.
Thanks Monica - address on the way! My postcrossing profile can be seen on www.postcrossing.com/users/scriptor and probably tells people more about me than my blogging profile ever has!
Barbara - I read about your Epping Forest experience - very frightening.