British obsessions November 8, 2006
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I know that I have been known to read the occasional celebrity goss and even have conversations about it but the British take the whole celebrity culture thing to a whole new level.
This is probably a result of the press here that is covered with articles about the most minor faces- today I read an article about the WAGs, that is the Wives And Girlfriends of the football players. They have become a phenomenon of their own.
BUT, yesterday we were in a bookshop and what astounded me was the number of autobiographies about every man, woman, child and their dog. I am sure if I looked hard enough I actually would have found an autobiography of a minor celebrity pet. The one that really struck me was the bio of the latest Big Brother winner! You have to be kidding. What have they ever done to have a book written about them? And at about 21? This is just the tip of the iceberg, there seemed to be biographies about anyone you could think of.
A quick look on Amazon uk reveals biographies about at least two big brother winners, Kerry Katona (former Atomic Kitten, former wife of Delta Goodrem’s boyfriend), the big blonde woman from ”How clean is your house”, Peter Andre, his wife Jordan, Jordan’s nemesis Jodie Marsh (Page Three model), Billie Piper (Dr Who), two from Victoria Beckham and various other tv chefs, reality tv ’stars’ etc etc etc. The only one in the first three pages of entries that looked even vaguely interesting was Billy Bragg’s and even so have any of these people done anything that is even slightly worthy of having an autobiography?
I wouldn’t have thought that these books would have sold too well but I must be wrong with the number of them out there.
All I can say is perhaps this is a good time to try and become a ghost writer.
Past sadness and future happiness November 7, 2006
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Lately I have been wondering about how much our ability to embrace change and new developments affects our state of mind and satisfaction with life.
My theory is that if you are always harking back to the past and wishing things would stay the same, then you are destined to be unhappy and dissatisfied because life will always move forward. However if you embrace change and progress then your levels of happiness will be higher simply because you are not allowing yourself to be confused and put off balance by new things.
One example is new technology. If we are willing to explore the possibilities that new technology opens up to us, do we avoid that feeling of helplessness by empowering ourselves with new knowledge.
I am sure I am not the first person to think about this and it would be interesting to know what research has been done.
Back in Blighty November 7, 2006
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We left the Netherlands on Friday morning and flew to Bournemouth. After three months in continental Europe it took a while for our brains to register that people understood us without us having to check if they spoke English.
It was amazing to notice the differences between the Netherlands and the UK. Whereas everything in Holland was newish and quite contemporary in design, England seems so quaint. Most buildings are old and those that are new are often made to look old.
Unfortunately we also noticed in Bournemouth how much poorer the people seemed to be than any we saw in the Netherlands. It soon struck home that we couldn’t remember seeing any homeless people in Holland at all.
From Bournemouth, we made our way to the Isle of Wight where we met up with some cousins of my Mum on her father’s side. Clive and Pauline made us feel incredibly welcome and took us on tour of the entire island.
The Isle of Wight is extremely picturesque with chalk cliffs, rolling hills and some lovely beaches. Chris was wishing he could have ridden his bike around some of the hills. The villages were full of old pubs and thatched houses and the countryside had some huge estates with the requisite grand house. There is even at least one castle. It was really like a tour of the best parts of England all on one island.
On Saturday night, we went to the Royal Hotel for dinner which was very special.
The only regret I had was that there were so many charity stores to explore but neither the time, the money or the bag space to even look.
On Sunday afternoon we caught the train to Oxford where we were stuck opposite the worst examples of spoiled British young ‘posh gels’ on their way home from a weekend of visiting Mummy and Daddy where they clomped around in their wellies and rode their ponies. We know this for sure because this and every aspect of their lives was discussed at full volume in their plummy accents as they tossed their blonde locks around.
While we were on the train, we also saw the most spectacular sunset I have ever seen. The clouds were deep red, orange, purple and pink at different times and the colours took over the whole sky. Unfortunately my camera was inacessible which was torture! I so wanted to capture it and was hoping there might be another one tonight but the weather today is completely foggy and it was dark by 4.30.
We were met at the station by Fil and El and after dinner, we celebrated bonfire night with some rockets by the Isis. It was smashing!
Today we wandered around Oxford and on Wednesday we head to Cambridge for the day and then to London.
Thanks Clive, Pauline and Claire! We had a great time.
Fashion gloat November 7, 2006
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How could I have forgotten?
In Amsterdam, in one of the secondhand shops mentioned in the last post, I managed to get some Stella McCartney for H&M black skinny jeans for 40 euro. They are perfect, never been worn and fantastic!
This collection sold out in one hour in London and are now selling on Ebay for much more.
And for those of you who know about my desire for skinny jeans but the worry I had that I would look like a pair of walking legs of Christmas ham, Stella is a genius! I had been trying on jeans for weeks and these looked better than all the rest.
So imagine the tune from the Eddie Murphy ice cream sketch
“I got some Steeeella’s, and you don’t haaaave none”
Actually you don’t have to imagine …
***** WARNING LANGUAGE WILL OFFEND*****
Eddie Murphy ice cream here
If only the Dolce & Gabbana pants in the same shop had fit …
Melbourne has nothing on Amsterdam November 6, 2006
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In terms of the weather that is.
We were in Amsterdam for two days this week and I have never seen more changeable weather.
In the space of a morning we had sun, rain, sun, hail, sun, wind, sun, thunder, lightning, sun etc. We were watching the weather change twice within ten minutes at some points. You could see the next patch of weather coming and dash for cover to avoid the shower and then watch the next sunny patch coming through the sheets of rain. However it remained uniformly freezing throughout the day.
Last time we were in Amsterdam we didn’t see much. This time we went to the Rijksmuseum and then just wandered the city- especially the secondhand shops.
Despite the weather, it was well worth it.
One Rainy Night in Amsterdam … November 6, 2006
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It was dark and wet.
Shooting the ABC in the knees November 1, 2006
Posted by Amanda in Media.2 comments
This article has made my blood boil. The government has effectively hobbled the ABC with its stacking of the board and the new editorial policies. ABC news already had the strictest controls on balance of any media organisation in the world and the new rules are unworkable.
I have no doubt that the Glasshouse has been axed at least partly because of these new controls and the fear that they could not be made to comply with the new policies.
As for John Howards statement “From time to time, if the ABC treats a news item in an unbalanced fashion I will say so, and I will say that in relation to other programs as well.” , that is complete and utter crap. ABC journalists have to bend over backwards to ensure coverage of an issue is balanced. The same cannot be said for any other Australian media or indeed most overseas.
It makes me sick that a media organisation like the ABC cannot be allowed to get on with the business they know so well without the nitpicking, ignorant scrutiny of this narrow minded, petty, snake of a Prime Minister and his cronies sticking their noses in.
