RIP Paul Newman

If there ever was anyone who proved that the eyes are the windows to the soul it has to be you. Bright, clear and sensitive. A quietly philanthropic man, who has done so much for charity without making sure it was slapped all over the papers.

And you played some of the most iconic characters on film: Butch, Luke, Lew Harper, Henry Gondorff, Eddie Felson and, my favourite of all his roles, Frank Galvin in The Verdict. Could it get much cooler?

We'll miss you.

There was no fat lady singing

coliseum_front,
originally uploaded by enowebmaster.

We went along to the opera last night Cav & Pag at the Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. Really good evening. The performance was incredible, very emotional because both of the operas are really sad. The Coliseum is wonderful though. Very stately. All in all a great night out.

This weekend was Open House weekend, where you can gain free access to interstesting buildings even private homes. We went along to one of those in the afternoon. An architect's house called Loth House. Quite something, it is just up the road from St Pancras International in a quiet little street. His office is in the basement of his own home and he has a small garden out back with a lovely little waterfall. It was a really cool space.

Of course, we were so close to St Pancras we just had to head down there to have some champagne before going out. The champagne bar is really cool actually, you're right in the thick of things. It reminds you of the time when rail travel was the upper class way to travel. I recommend spending half an hour in there, you really are watching the world go by.

Fadin' out...

Flickr

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Open hair day

I had my hair done today, now I know that might seem boring to you but it has been five months with my grey roots coming in, yes Madonna gets those died dark, and I feel I can earn enough now to cover the cost. Those were the two important considerations. I go here la Kutt Zone. It's not just a salon, it's a great experience.

Anyway this weekend is open house weekend so I get to go nosey around in architects' lovely houses, the ones that I would never see unless I were invited to dinner, which is not likely to happen any time soon. Check out Open House London to find some venues you might want to have a look at.

I do wonder at the Bank of England still being on the list though, with all that has happened this week. Do they really want irate investors and customers in the building? Annoyed mortgage payers may take up residence, if foreclosure on their own property is an option. The Bank building may be a bit hard to heat though, but the echo when you sing in the shower would be good.

Fadin' out...

Enough doom and gloom

Banks, insurance companies, financial this, going bust that. I'm bored with it. Let's cheer up...

Well, don't see The Women, that will just annoy you. Taken might be cool, out next week, Liam Neeson as a stone-cold killer. Then there is Robert and Al together again in Righteous Kill, hmmm, we'll see. I liked The Chaser, Korean new wave at its best. Total escapism, in the film and in the audience, and great performances. Await the Hollywood remake, which hopefully will do it justice.

Okay, more Colorado snaps. This is the view from the American Eagles site I told you about. Now I wonder when those miners came back up with handfuls of gold and saw this site, they ever thought gold's price could reach the $1,000 an ounce it did this year. I'd love to know what they sold it for, 'cause $1,000 would probably have bought a huge piece of Colorado back then. I look at the pics of the mines though and it does remind me of There Will Be Blood. Now I know that's a different commodity, but there just seemed to be a drive to physically find both of them back then. Now, they seem to be a today price or a future price to be gambled on.

And that brings me to ...

I am going to make a short film with the footage of the Colorado trip. A comparison of the mining back then and the strip mining now. Basically, a little short documentary, taking no sides, 'cause I am sure that if, back then, they had the equipment we have now, they would not have needed, nor wanted, that blacksmith's shop at the top of a damn mountain! Btw, I climbed up that easy slope, from the carpark, not so easy, and I bet it was hard for those horses laden with gold. Well at least the load was only downhill. They must have dreaded the return trip, to start all over again.

Fadin' out...

I've been away so long...

where can I start.

Three years eh. OK, quick synopsis, left job, no leaving present, great leaving do, lunched for a year, work was minimal, met lovely guy, walked more, travelled a bit, freelance now. Wow, three years goes fast.

I am so happy at the mo. Just had a freelance job kinda confirmed for the forseeable and that is great. I am dithering with my fiction writing, don't know why, maybe it's still too raw.

Anyway, in the meantime, here are some pics of one of my travels this year.

I fell in love with Colorado, I know, how weird is that. Small place Colorado Springs considering how big the state is, but oh my, how beautiful is that scenery.

Did you know you can drive up Pike's Peak, well in a four-wheel, even in a snow storm in March. I whined about my headache only to look online to find it was a symptom of altitude sickness. How was I supposed to know, it was only 11,000ft :-0
I love the advice online tho, if you have altitude sickness the best cure is....to come back down, yup, that easy.

My favourite thing in Colorado tho, and my little mission, was to find Ghost Towns. They seem so Hollywood and detached on the screen, but when we got to Victor, an old gold-rush town where strip mining is now the deal, and found it literally closing down, it was really sad. Reality sad.

However, a drive up the mountain next door and there it was, the American Eagles protected site. An old mineshaft, blacksmiths shop and the amazing view over to Pike's Peak. These guys might have mined but they had respect for the land. I'm not sure that is quite the case now.

Cripple Creek just up the way from Victor is thriving on gambling, hey gold miners and gambling must have gotten along like Laurel and Hardy in all their best movies. We did drive the shelf road all the way out of there tho. I recommend that. I hate heights but wow. Those guys were determined to get that gold out of there and not be ambushed: sheer cliff one side, sheer drop the other, no room for bandits.

I'm thinking of making a short film about the whole experience. Mebbe...

Fadin' out