Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Well, we did have summer ever so briefly over the weekend but it have left us again. I took some wonderful photos of our days on the Helford with water so clear (and cold) and the sky blue but my camera it appears is on strike. It won't focus properly any more. In these days of digital cameras can they be fixed and is it worth I wonder?

I am trying to achieve some routine which is working. I have managed to keep the early rising thing going which means I have a peaceful two hours before any child appears. I should be cleaning the house but I have been getting back into A Cornish House. This has meant beginning again so to speak. So Instead of being on page 285 of the structural rewrite I am on page 160. Having said that this time through I am catching only small things and I am pleased that new additions seem to fit in seamlessly. Now to push on to where the BIG stuff needs to added.

So with my routine back in place I have been trying to catch up on all the blogs I have missed. I am still not commenting much but I am reading them again but before I venture on to what today's blog is about there have been some new additions to RNA conference reports:

Kate Johnson has a great write up of two of the Saturday morning sessions up.
Anna Lucia

Now while catching up on blogs Iwas reading Nathan Blansford's blogblog I clicked through to Rebecca Ramsey who had a great post about encounters with famous people. This had me thinking about my more recent ones. In Rome we were in the same restaurant as Julia Roberts much to the Dh's delight. The sort of sad thing was that we thought it was just a woman who looked like her........(papers confirmed the following day it was her). I have contact encounters (walked into them) with two very tall men - first was Stephen Fry back when the DH and I were first married and lived near Windsor. Fry was so tall I didn't see his face after I walked smack into him and I was clearly so short he didn't see me! The second was at the Jumeriah Beach Club (in our first stint in Dubai when JBC still existed) was Jeremy Clarkson. I had turned to shout at the trailing kids and continued to walk which was straight into him. I realized who it was as I appologized. Probably my most famous encounter after sitting next to Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall in Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons was actually talking to Bob Hope on the golf course. I was about eighteen at the time. Somewhere I still have my golf card that he signed.

So fess up - who and how have you encountered famous types?

15 comments:

CL Taylor said...

When I was 16 I did work experience at BBC Pebble Mill (this is about the extent of my experiences with famous people!) and several things happened:

1) I met Rolf Harris and he drew me a picture of a Rolfaroo and signed it to me

2) I babysat Linda Bellinghams kid's while she was filming All Creatures Great and Small

3) I shared a lift to the canteen with Peter Davidson (tiny little eyes) and Christopher Timothy (very pale)

4) While watching the rehearsals for Pebble Mill at One (or whatever the daytime show presented by Alan Titchmarsh was) when Michael Bolton (this was just before his big break) took to the stage to practice his song. When he finished he came up to me and said, "I don't suppose you'd sing my song for me would you? I'm sick of it!" I declined with a smile (secretly thinking, 'who is this long haired freak!')

Karen said...

Do Ulrika Johnson and Noel Gallagher count? They both came into the newsagents where I worked a few years ago. (Not at the same time!) Saw Ted Rogers in there too (Dusty Bin, 321? now I'm showing my age) he was tiny with dyed ginger hair!

Not as impressive as Calistro's!!

NoviceNovelist said...

Liz - you have a fabulous 'stars encounter' list - I once sat near Michael Hutchence (INXS singer) at a party - I was a huge fan and it was a thrill!!!!! On a less glamorous note - off to cook dinner now and get a load of washing on - wonder if Julia Roberts loads her own machine????? Guess not!!!
Where is the entourage when you need them????

cs harris said...

I think my funniest encounter was in an ice cream parlor in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island. I heard the guy behind me say, "Gimme a vanilla ice cream cone" in a great John Wayne imitation voice. I turned around, laughing, to congratulate him and...

Unknown said...

Calistro what a fabulous work experience!!! Do you still have the drawing?

Karen - you could have started some great rumours if you hadn't clarified that they hadn't come in together.

NN - that must have been some party :-)

C.S. what can I say??? One thinks things like that only happen in films :-)

Jane Henry said...

We have (or had one has moved) two famous residents. First was Norman Wisdom who used to drink in our local (he is now sadly in old people's home in the Isle of Mann), second is Jimmy White whose house I often run past. His car reg is Cue Boy. He also runs our local snooker club and is often to be spotted in the High St (my husband is always pleased at how much older Jimmy looks then him, given that Jimmy is two years younger!)

I has an outrageous evening of celeb spotting at the Collins summer party the other week, and saw the Hagues, Sue Lawley, David Baddiel, Tony Parsons and Gok Wan... I nearly walked into a photo session with the latter!

DOT said...

I used to work in advertising so worked with many so-called celebs in a professional capacity.

Most were very pleasant but some, who shall remain nameless, were so snotty about doing advertising you wondered what they did with the money they earned from the job - have it disinfected?

Unknown said...

Your evening sounds brilliant Jane!!

dot, now you have me wondering who????

Flowerpot said...

maggie thatcher - in my Tv days we interviewed her. I was amazed at how short she was! Also Michael Heseltine I met at an office party. Not knowing he owned the joint.

Unknown said...

Well we have the famous 'Sam West Debacle' which tells you exactly what NOT to do when you meet an idol.

My sister and I met Grace Jones in a shop in Las Vegas back in the 80s and she persuaded my mother to buy my sister some very trendy (for then) jeans.

Hugh Jackman grinned at me as he walked past me in Pimlico *swoon*

I asked Kenny Chesney a question at the CMAs (and didn't run screaming towards the stage so I am improving on how to deal with meeting your idols).

Have met various country music artists and was reasonably well behaved.

Last year I mistook Dale Winton for someone else at a recording studio. He was very nice about it. At the same studio (different days) I saw Mark Lemar, The Proclaimers (very tall!), and other people who I forget.

And various politicians most days including Michael Portillo who lives round the corner and looks better in real life.

Kate Johnson said...

Biddy, I have to start hanging out in Pimlico if you see Hugh Jackman there!

My celeb encounters aren't very exciting. Although I can tell you that Michael Portillo used to fly low-cost from Stansted--I know this because I was on the next desk to the girl checking him in: she was foreign and had no idea who he was!

Timothy Spall once came with his wife to the airport, he was very nice.

For two or three years I've been staying in Port Isaac while Doc Martin was being filmed, so there were a few Martin Clunes appearances.

But probably my biggest claim to fame is that Jamie Oliver used to go to my school, and when I was 16 I interviewed him for the school paper. He was just becoming known as the Naked Chef (try doing your internet research on that!) and a lot of people still hadn't heard of him. He came to my house, made my nannan's day (or possibly her year!) by kissing her cheek, and was very down to earth and friendly.

My mum used to work for Yorkshire Television in the 1970s and has a whole list of famous people she used to see in the bar. She always told me they're just ordinary people, so I've never been terribly starstruck!

Annie Wicking said...

My highlight was meeting P.D James. I asked how she coped with when her work was rejected.

She smile sweetly and told me she's never had her any work rejected but she know it must be hard thing to cope with as many writer have ahd they work rejected.

Best wishes
Annie

Anonymous said...

I used to be a flight attendant for United Airlines. I have happily and not so happily served many Hollywood types that fall somewhere on the continuum from super famous to somewhat known. The most famous person I've ever brought a cocktail was Ray Charles. The most somewhat famous person I've ever nearly missed recognizing was Billy Blanks (from the kick boxing exercise videos of the 90's).

Graeme K Talboys said...

I sat opposite Jacqueline Pearce on the Tube once and chatted (although I suspect what I remember as witty repartee was probably gibberish).

Had lunch with Michael Wood when he was filming at the museum where I worked.

Used to drink with David McTaggart. And had a few drinking sessions with Barrington J Bayley.

Went to school with Pete Thomas (drummer with the Attractions); Tom Morley (drummer with first line-up of Scritti Politti); and Wreckless Eric.

Zinnia Cyclamen said...

Damn I'm sure I commented on here last week, maybe Blogger ate it. Anyway the trouble with me is I never recognise celebs, probably due to a lifetime of not having a TV. In fact I don't even know who half the people mentioned in this comments thread are. (Although I can't help thinking that Graeme having been to school with Wreckless Eric explains a few things.) (But I wouldn't recognise W.E. either unless he spoke to me because I only know who he is from the radio.)