This is how a thriller should be written

I love to read crime novels, especially English ones. For some reason I like them much better than others. When I was in London last May I took home Deadly Intent by Lynda La Plante. I had never heard of this author before, I only knew that she wrote She's Out, that is also a TV series, with Anna Patrick in one of the roles. Last October I went to London again and I thought it was time to take Deadly Intent with me for a good read. And a good read it was. I didn't even notice we were passing the Channel Tunnel. The book is about DI Anna Travis who has to solve yet another case. I didn't know there were more books about this DI, but this really was a great start. There is a shooting in a notorious drugs dealers squat in norht London and Anna is determined to find answers. I read a little about her private life and all about the case. I love to read a little about the DI's private lifes, but the real thing I want to read is that the murder(s) is/are getting solved. Elizabeth George has the habbit to describe all the side characters aswell that makes her books a bit boring to read for me, as I don't want to know about anybody but Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers. Lynda La Plante did the perfect job with this book for me. I bought the other books in the series of Anna Travis aswell and I was lucky enough to find the new book Silent Scream in the stores. I am really looking forward to read the books and to learn more about DI Anna Travis.

The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir

I have a keen interest in history and when I was in London last May I found some very interesting books. I did read a book about Henry III by Alison Weir, and now I have read the Lady Elizabeth by the same author. The book was a thriller/romace novel with some true things in it, but also some things that are not that true or can not be confirmed. The book follows Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of Henry III, untill she becomes Queen. There is a book about that period aswell, but I still have to read it. This book was great to read and hard to put away. It was well written and full of intrigues and suspence. But there is also time for romance and fun in the novel. It shows us how the people lived in that time. It was a very hard time if you ask me. Especially women had a hard time as I see it. All they were good for is to marry and to bring offspring to the world. A lot of women died in childbirth or had dead born babies. I am glad that women these days show it can be the other way around too. I am very happy not to have lived in that time, there was also a lot of sickness around and lots of people suffered from the plague. Alison Weir is a great writer. Usually books about history can be quite dull, in my experience that is, but this and the Henry VIII book were not boring at all. They were great to read and give people a great insight on England as it was at the time.

The Whole Day Through by Patrick Gale

After hearing the Book at Bedtime version by Samantha Bond and Nathaniel Parker I got very curious about this book. To my surprise I was able to order it at a Dutch webshop. So 2 days after I ordered the book it arrived and I started to read straight away. The thing is that I couldn't stop reading. I love to read, but this book really is one of the best I read so far. I want to get more books by Patrick Gale for sure. I never heard of the author before and this was a very welcome introduction.

The story is about Laura who moved from Paris to a small English village to take care of her mother. In that little village she meets Ben, a former lover from school. They haven't seen eachother in 20 odd years, and she doesn't recognise him at first. They have dinner together and he tells her that he moved to this village to take care of his brother, who has down syndrome. They take on a passionate affair and Ben wants to ends his marriage. Do they end up together or not?

This book is very well written. You can picture the characters in the book and I love the style of the author. I think that this book is a great read. It is funny, sad and witty. I am really looking forward to read more by this Patrick Gale. The Book At Bedtime Story was very well abridged, but I was very happy to read the book and discover more about Laura, Ben and the other characters in the book.

Riding my Storm by Timmy Murphy

I was finally able to finish this wonderful book. Since a short time I am into horse racing and am interested in a few jockeys and horses. Timmy Murphy is one of the jockeys. I was able to get this book through Ebay and it was a great read. I started and it was hard to put it down. Timmy wrote this book together with someone else, but it is like you are Timmy. He is very open about himself and his past and present. It was great to read where Timmy came from and I have nothing but respect for him. He told me all about his alcoholproblem, which lead him to jail for a few months. He thought his carreer as jockey was over, but he came back stronger than ever. I really like the way this book is written. It is like Timmy himself is talking to you. Especially when he describes the Grand National of 2008, when he won on Comply or Die. It was a wonderful to see the race from Timmy´s point of view.



They were a wonderful team, but Timmy also talks about other horses like Beef or Salmon, which was one of his favorites. This book is a great read for people who love to know more about the person behind the jockey. This book tells about the comradery in the weight room, but also about the downsides of being a jockey. It was a great pleasure to read this book. I read a lot of books once and when they are "just nice" I sell them again, but this is a book for keep. I enjoyed reading it and I was a bit sad when it was finished. I am reading another book now, but I will be reading Timmy's book another time soon. I recommand this book to all who loves horses, as it shows that jockeys really care about their horses. It must be frustrating when you think you have been good on your horse and some others think you are not and get fined or banned. I am sure that race horses are well looked after, and this book is a proof of that. Well done Timmy and I hope to see you many more years to come as jockey.

Snobs, by Julian Fellowes

I was very intrigued when I read the description of the book, and I must say it was worth the read. Snobs is about an ordinary girl who marries herself into aristocracy. Julian Fellowes describes everything very well. He is a funny and witty writer and I really like the book. Julian is an actor who became a writer and he did very well if I look at this book. He makes fun of his own profession as actor and it is great to read it from an insider. He describes the characters in the story very well and you can make the picture in your head while you read. I think it is a great vacation read. It does well on beaches, in gardens and on balconies. I am looking forward to read more of Julian's book. I have Past Imperfect on my read list, but first I have some other books to read.

Nathaniel Parker, the garden man

Anna's husband Nathaniel was and is a famous actor. He is well known for his roles in the Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Stardust, Flawless and even had a small part in The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. A side of Nathaniel that not many people know is that he loves to work in his garden. While Anna decorates the house, Nathaniel works in the garden. When they bought the house they are living in now, he landscaped the garden with the help from his mother Jill Parker. She has a lovely garden in Minster Lovell where she and her husband, the late, Sir Peter Parker have a weekend home. Their house was neglected and the garden looked like rubbish. She found out how to create a romantic garden and even wrote a book about it. It is out of print, but it is a wonderful book. She helped her youngest son with his garden.



In my opinion they did a wonderful job. They even buildt a tree house for the children, although Nathaniel admits that their grown up friends are up there more than the children are. He is also very fond of his roses and olive trees. I think that he and Lady Jill Parker created a great garden that goes very well with the wonderful decorated house. They added a veranda to the house, so they can live outdoors aswell. And if the weather allows it they do that a lot. The veranda is a tribute to Australia, where Anna's mother comes from. I hope to see more of their work in garden and home soon.

Anna Parker

As some of you might know I am a huge fan of former actress/interior designer Anna Parker. She had a feature in the Living Etc of May last year, where they showed pictures of her stylish white house. Ofcourse I have the magazine and the pictures. I love the white and the little bit of colour she added to it. Recently I found pictures of a "new" Parker house. It is still white, but with more colour. If I am honest I like this more than the white. Anna really is a talent when it comes to interior design. She gives me lot of inspiration for changes in my flat. I don't have her budget, but I can do it all my way and with my own budget. I like Anna's point of view. She combines stuff she bought when she was 20 with new stuff. I really think she is amazing and creates a stylish and compfy home for her husband Nathaniel and their two children Angel and Raffy.



The pictureon top is a view of the living room, while the second picture shows a nice and cosy kitchen where Anna can cook and entertain people at the same time. Anna loves to cook and to entertain. She was a wonderful actress, but she is a hell of an interior designer. I know who I am going to hire to decorate my house when I win the lottery.

Michael Jackson

He was always there in my life and now he is gone. It was a shock to hear that Michael Jackson died last week. I remember watching TV and see him sing and dance with his brothers in the Jackson 5. I was totally mad about the song Ben. I was 3 or maybe 4 years old, but I liked him. I grew up and so did he. He started a solo carreer and I saw his first real videoclips. I still see myself in bed watching Count Down (a very populair music show in the Netherlands at the time) because Thriller was going to be on. After 8 o'clock. I watched it on my little black and white TV and was scared to death when I saw all these creepy figures. I was happy not to see it in colour. It was the talk of the day, next day at school. He had more hits and I watched his video clips on TV. I saw him change. His face, colour, behaviour and the gossip machine started to roll. In the 90s Michael went down hill for me when it came to music. He still had good songs, but not as good as they used to be. There were even more scandals at the time. I catched a glimpse of him when I worked in Disneyland Paris in the summer of 1996. He spent a few days there in September, during my last few days there. I still remember seeing all these fans at the entrance of the parc, in front of the Disneyland Hotel screaming for Michael. I had to stop them (with many other colleagues) from hunting him down to the store in the hotel. He was surrounded by bodyguards and had a boy with him. I thought it wasn't clever to do this what happened with this boy Jordan something. I always thought that this boy was after Michaels money. So was the other boy who was eager to appear with Michael in the Bashir documentary. He "loved" Michael and crawled all over him in the documentary. A few weeks later he claimed to be abused by Michael. I never believed that. I always thought that that boy was after his money. And there were more people after that. The last part of his life were marked by other scandals. But people forget that Michael did a lot of good things too. He helped a lot of charities and did a lot of good things for sick children and those in need. I was shocked to hear about his death. Michael was there all my life and now he is gone. I was never a fan, but I did and do like his music. Not all songs, but a lot of his hits are really good. He was a good entertainer and dancer. In my opinion we lost a great personality in him. I hope Michael is happy and in peace where he is now. I know that I will never forget him. He left us with a lot of great music and some wonderful clips. If I look at Thriller now, it gives me a good laugh and it is a great trip down memory lane, but it still is one of my favorites. May peace be with him.

Malice in Wonderland

There are some films you really want to reach the cinema, and this is one of them. A few days ago I found the trailer of Malice in Wonderland on the internet. I was interested already as Nathahiel Parker, my favorite actor, as some of you might know, was in. But the trailer blew me away. I am not a fan of the Alice film that Walt Disney made. It is not bad, just not my cup of tea. I have never read the books either. But this trailer made me more curious. This is a film I really want to see. The director Simon Fellows turned the Alice story into a great film, from what I saw. There was some rumour about Misha Barton playing the lead, but in the end it was Maggie Grace who got the part of Alice. I never saw any film she did, but in this trailer she is great. I really like her. Ofcourse the trailer don't says it all, but it looks good. Maggie is a wonderful Alice and Nathaniel Parker finally gets to show that he can play villain characters. He plays the King and Queen in one. From what I saw in the trailer he did a marvelous job. The rest of the crew and cast too ofcourse. I really hope to see this film soon in the cinema. In the trailer it is mentioned that the film is in Post Production, but from what I understand the film is finished and can be released. I hope they do it soon, as for me it is one of the MUST SEE films of the year. There is not that many I look forward to, but this is one of the 3 films I am looking forward to this year. The others are the new Harry Potter and the Oliver Parker film, The Picture of Dorian Grey. But Malice is in top position. I hope it will reach the cinemas in the country I live, and otherwise I try to see it in a cinema in another country. This is a film that is made for the cinema, and I really keep my fingers crossed for a wonderful release. I hope it will be a much better release as Flawless got. Maggie Grace looks stunning in this publicity picture. The film is very colourfull from what I saw in the trailer and it will attract many people, young and old. Maybe a good film for Christmas time, but to be honest, I hope to see it sooner than that.

Flawless

If there is a film that got very little attention in the press it is Flawless, a diamond heist thriller by Michael Radford. I wonder why. I saw the film and I loved it. The art of this film is, to quote Nathaniel Parker in a few interviews on the films release, "It is a film with no sex, no violence and no action". It is not an American Blockbuster, this is a gripping story. A great film that deserves much more attention. It played in the American cinemas for a short while 2 years ago, if I am correct. Last year finally the Uk was able to see it. I was very happy, because I was going to visit friends in London around the time the film came to the cinemas there. Bad luck for me as the film was out of the cinemas in a week. The Prince Charles cinema, off Leicester Square cancelled the film for some reason too. It was my only chance to see it in the cinema, but alas. I had hopes that this film came to the Dutch cinemas, but no luck in that either. I am very happy with the DVD release in the UK. The film is out on DVD in Australia and America already, but last month the UK was able to buy this great film. It didn't get much publicity. I really wonder why. This is such a great film. Not an American blockbuster as I said earlier, but a great story that is told wonderfully by cast and crew.

What is it about I hear you say. Well, it is about an executive that is overlooked by her bosses for promotions at the London Diamond Corporation. She has the experience and the talent, but her boss thinks that women were not suit to lead a company like this in the 60s. She meets a night-time janitor and together they plan a diamond heist that will keep London talking for years to come. Demi Moore and Michael Caine play the leading parts. Also there are good parts for Josh Ackland and Lambert Wilson. The real reason I watched this film is that Nathaniel Parker had a part in it aswell. Not that big, but any film with Nathaniel in it is good for me. This film however, is a special one. This is how a story needs to be told. The good thing for me is that nothing happens and still you are at the edge of your seat. I wish there were more films like Flawless. It is a shame that this film is so overlooked by both crowd and press. This film deserves a better chance. If you click on the link under this blog, you can see an interview Nathaniel Parker recently did for the DVD release of Flawless in the UK.

http://www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=35069

Webradio 100% Mylene Farmer

I mentioned Mylene Farmer earlier in a blog. Today I discovered that I don't need to put her CD's in the computer to listen to it. As Mylene is currently on tour (and I don't have tickets) I look all the information about the new tour up on a site. It seems now that that site also has internet radio. I started to listen to it a bit earlier and I can't get it off. I even skipped the 7.30 news, which is on at the moment because I love to listen to this radiochannel. It is great to hear Mylene's music through this site. I am not a fan of the mixes that are made of her songs. I prefer the original versions, but this channel also has these mixes on the radio. But they are not irritating at all. They play one or two and then some "normal songs. Mylene is my favorite French singer. She hardly gives interviews or appears in TV shows. Her videoclips are like small films and they are very good. Not all my taste, but there are some very beautiful clips out there. Every few years Mylene surprises her fans with a new CD and a tour. She recently started a tour through France. I would love to go, but the ticket prices are a bit to high for me. At first it was announced that she would do a concert at the Stade de France. I hate big stadium concerts, as you hardly see anything. Later on it was mentioned that there would be more concerts in concert halls and stadiums. These concerts sold out in no time. Mylene is a real cult in France. She is a mystery, not much is known of her past and her private life. Some stars are very open about their private life, Mylene don't talk much about it. That is fine with me as I am not really interested in that. Mylene is a good singer and her shows are wonderful to watch, but that is it. She needs to do her grocery shopping too, like me and everybody else in the world. Mylene has many fans who bring out magazines and have lots of websites for and about her. This webradio is wonderful as I can hear all her songs, also the ones that I don't play much. We all have our favorites and songs we don't really like. This is a great way to listen to both. If you want to know more about the mystery Mylene Farmer, you can visit the link under the blog, and if you want to listen to her music, you just follow the other link.

http://www.mylene.net/

http://www.mylene.net/mylene/mylene-farmer_webradio

Tony McCoy's biography

I am very interested in horse races, as I mentioned in an earlier blog. So I wanted to know more about it, and found the biography of Anthony McCoy, a very succesful English National Hunt Jockey. I started to read the book and I couldn't put it down. It is a very nice read and it tells the story of Tony, as he was called later, or AP untill the early years of this century. The book starts with a young boy who hates school and does everything to be at a stable near his house and ends with one of the most succesful jockey's in history.

I loved the book, but there was one thing that struck me when I read it. There are a few chapters about Tony getting punished for using a whip on the horses. I felt very sorry for him. I understand that people don't want the horses to get hurt, but you can take that to far aswell. I understand very well that there are people out there who are for wellfare of the horses, but from what I read, they took it a bit to far. I see that the horses enjoy the races and I am sure that the jockey's don't mean any harm on the horses when they use the whip. If the horses don't like it, I am sure there are plenty of ways for them to show that they don't like it at all. Tony seems like a very nice and reasonalble man to me. All he wanted was to make his dream come true. He made it come true for sure and he is one of the best jockey's in British history. The book also has a lot of wonderful pictures of Tony, the horses he rode and the people that were and are important in his life. Ofcourse his parents, but also Billy Rock and Martin Pipe played a big role in his carreer. This is really a book that I recommand to read. But for people who love racing and want to know more about the person behind the jockey. I am really looking forward to read the biography of Timmy Murphy, another succesful jockey.

The Outcast by Sadie Jones

I had never heard of this author before, but the story sounded promising, so I gave it a try. I wanted to save this book for reading on my trip to London next month, but it was tempting to read it now. I read the Dutch translation and I must say that I was happy with the translation. The book is about Lewis a boy with a "normal" life in war time. When his dad returns from the war his life changes. His free life with his mother is over and he has to adjust to the village life. During a picknick Lewis sees his mother drown before his eyes. He becomes estranged with everybody and sets the local church on fire. When he comes out of jail 3 years later the people in the village find him interesting, but also sees him as threat. The daughters of his boss try to helphim, but their help has fatal consequences.

When I started to read the book I felt like I was an outsider, but that soon changed. I was drawn into the story quickly and was hardly able to put the book down. It is very well written and is at some points funny. Not much though, as in my opinion, the book is more tragic. The further in the book the more tragic it becomes. I felt very sorry for Lewis, but also for the daughters of his boss. It seems that everybody in the book has something tragic in him or herself. You can't help but feeling sorry for these people.

Sadie Jones is a new author as this is her debut novel. It was nominated for the Galaxy bookawards Populair fiction awards. She didn't win, but this book won my heart and I hope to read more books by Sadie in the future. I found out about this book through the Richard and Judy book club. I can't get Watch, the channel that airs Richard and Judy in the UK, as I don't live there. But I do see some clips sometimes and this book was recommanded by them last year. This book is very well written and I can see a film being made of it. Another recommandation is Imperfect by Julian Fellowes, but that is for another time, as that is the book I try to save for my trip to London next month.

The Graveyard Book

I started to read this book just a few days ago and I am finished already. What a wonderful book this is. It is about a boy called Nobody Owens who lives in a graveyard. I am not going to tell more as I don't want to spoil the surprise for other readers. But this really is one of the best books I've ever read. It is very well written, and the humor is just great. It really is a Neil Gaiman book as it should be. I did read a few of them, but this is the best I've read so far. I found out about Neil, through Stardust. I heard about the film, when they were filming it. I was curious about the book and I bought it. I couldn't stop reading and was curious about other Gaiman books. There are still a few that I have to read, but I can say that Neil is an inspiration and a great writer. I love his dark sence of humor and the way he writes. I want to read Coraline too and I want to see the film. The Graveyard Book is a wonderful story for a film if you ask me. The characters are alive (depends on who they are though), and you can feel the graveyard atmosphere all around you when you read this book. It really is a recomandation. It is in my top 10 of favorites for sure. I want more Neil Gaiman books, and I can't wait to read the newest one when it comes out.

Careless in Red by Elizabeth George

I just finished Careless in Red, the new Inspector Lynley book by Elizabeth George. I read it before, but I wanted to pick it up again to read it. I did and I loved the book. It is better than the last Lynley novels I have read. Careless in Red shows us where Thomas Lynley is after the murder on his wife Helen. He is walking the coast of Cornwall when he finds the body of a young man. When it looks like murder, Thomas is the first suspect. The book is big, but this time it is well written. I did read more big Lynley book, where I read chapters that really didn't intrest me. I want to read about a murder and then the 2 detectives who solve it. In this case Barbara Havers, Thomas's Scotland Yard partner and Bea Hannaford. Thomas Lynley is suspect, but he also reveals some secrets that should have never come out. This book is a good read for a holiday, although I don't recommand to read it on the beach. But a garden or balcony will do very well. At least it works for me.

The first time I heard about the Inspector Lynley Mysteries was through the TV series with Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small. The first episode I saw was A Suitable Vengeance, and it was also the first book I've read. It was a shock to see that the Thomas Lynley in the books was blond, with glasses. Not at all like the Thomas Lynley in the TV series. I was also surprised to find that the book was about the engagement of Thomas with Deborah and not (like in the TV series) with Helen. I really had to get used to it. Now I think of the books and TV series as different stories. The characters in the books are not at all like the ones on TV. A thing that bothers me about the books is the way Barbara Havers is portrayed. She is very ugly in the books, she dresses bad and she has a horrible haircut. It gets annoying to see that in every book. It seems that Barbara can't do anything good in Mrs Georges eyes. I am getting tired of reading that Barbara is ugly and she has no taste for clothes. In my opinion Barbara is a beauty of her own. She has her own style and her own way of living. Barbara is Barbara and no one can change that. To me she became a dear friend, and it doesn't matter if one of her tooth is broken, her haircut is bad and she wears baggy clothes. It is the person within that counts. I am looking forward to read the next Lynley book. Now the TV series has come to an end, it is good that the books are still there. Careless in Red played tricks on my mind to be honest. When I read it first there was nothing wrong, but when I read it again and I found the description of Bea Hannaford, the first one that came to my mind was Jo Brand. She should have been perfect to play that part in the series (if there was an episode). And also Dellen Kerne's description looks like another famous person to me. When I read about her, I see the mother of The Nanny (the American comedy). She looks very much like Dellen Kerne, as I have her in mind. Careless in Red is a good read and it is good to pick books like that up again sometimes. I always discover something new in these books. Next on the list is something completely different. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, another great author. But that is a blog for another time.

Bitten by the Horse Racing Bug

Two years ago a friend of mine talked about the Grand National, a famous horse race. I had never heard about it, but I was curious. As I was in London that day I didn't see any of it. Last year I corrected that. I saw Comply or Die win this race. I liked what I saw, and I was curious about it. This year I saw the Grand National again and this year Comply or Die came in second. Too bad as I had my hope set on him. Mon Mome was a great winner this year. One thing was sure, I was bitten by the horse racing bug. I wanted to know more about it, I really don't know anything about it. I just look at the looks of the horse or the name and that is it. Now I really want to dig deeper into it. i want to know more about it. I found the site of trainer David Pipe and congratulated him on the good result of Comply or Die. He sent me a very nice email back. I once saw a small documentary on race horses and they were all treated very well. As David Pipe mentioned in his email to me "The horses live in a 5 star hotel". People tell me that these races are there to abuse the horses. I don't agree with that. From what I see, the horses have fun doing it, otherwise they would never go with the rest, if their jockey falls off. And I always look at the ears too. I don't know if that goes for horses too, but the time you have to watch out for animals is when their ears are turned backwards or close to their heads. The only time I get to see a race or meeting as it is called too, is when the BBC is showing them. They don't show much and their internet site is not good when it comes to watching as their clips are just avaliable for UK residents. I am not a UK resident, so I have to watch elsewhere. I am glad that YouTube has good race clips and there are lots of sites where I can find information about races. I hope to visit a racetrack one day. It would be great to watch the Grand National or a race at the Cheltenham festival.

Ever since I was a child I have a passion for horses, but I never came any further than a ride at the fairgrounds. Riding a horse is pretty expencive and I never had the money to learn to ride. I might give it a try this year. I really hope that I can find a nice place here in town where I can learn to ride a horse. Buying my own horse is no option. I have no money for that for sure. But riding a horse sounds really wonderful to me. It is something I wanted to do for years and I hope I can make that dream come true one day.

Some great links to Race forums, clips and the Racing Post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FInUXkCF0ac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpRUSezk15U
http://www.racingpost.com/
http://www.theracingforum.co.uk/forum/index.php
http://www.grandnationalinsider.co.uk/default.aspx

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

After reading Far From The Madding Crowd I got very curious about Thomas Hardy and I bought more books he wrote. The first one I read was The Mayor of Casterbridge. I finally finished it. It took me a while as I did put the book away sometimes. The story is well written, but very depressing from time to time. It is about the rise and fall of Michael Henchard. He sold his wife and daugher at a fairground atraction and became mayor of Casterbridge. Then his wife and daughter re-appear and everything goes wrong from there. As I said, it is very well written and one of Hardy's best books. But I can't help it but feeling depressed sometimes when I read some parts of the book. I don't want to feel depressed so I did read some other books in the meanwhile. Or parts of them, as I should say. I find this book a nice one, but I have no idea if I read it again. I don't feel the same vibes that I felt when reading Far From The Madding Crowd. I think that that is really Hardy's best book. I am off Hardy for a while now. I started a Stephen Fry book and I have more books I have bought and are waiting to be read.

4 heroic women of WW2.

Even when I was little I was fascinated by some eras in history. The French Revolution is one of them, another one is World War 2. I wasn't born at the time, but I always watched films and I was thought that at May 4 at 8.00 PM there was a 2 minute silence for those who fell for our freedom. Ofcourse there were many people who did lots of good things in the war and I want to tell a bit about 4 of them. They are all women, but for me they are heroes.

The first of them is Anne Frank, well known for her diary. She hid with her family and some other people in parts of the office building of her father called "Het Achterhuis". People are lining up to see it daily and it is very impressive to see where she lived the last years of her life. It is very sad that someone betrayed her and her famly, so they went to the gaschambers. The only one who survived was Anne's father.

The second person is not so well known out side the Netherlands. Her name is Hannie Schaft. She was a student of law when the war started. She was in the resistance, but when someone was shot in front of her eyes, she decided to do more than that. They attack the bad people who worked for the Germans. One of the attacks killed her lover Hugo. They find a picture of her in his pocket and then the race starts to get her. She dyed her hair red and became the Girl With The Red Hair. She is the most famous Dutch resistance woman.

The third woman I like to talk about is my grandmother. Not known to anyone in the world, except for friends and family, but she did a lot of wonderful things in the war to help Jewish people. She knew Hannie Schaft, but I never found out if they worked together or not. My grandmother once was caught by the German and brought to an officer. She reminded him of his daughter, who was the same age as she was and for that reason he let her go. It didn't stop her from doing what she did. She always wore a Jewish Star necklace. I am very proud of what she did during that time, I hope I never have to follow her footsteps, but if I have to, I do the same without hesitation.

The last woman I want to introduce is Irene Sendler. I have to be honest here, as I never heard of her before there was a message on a film about her life. Irene was a very brave woman who saved 2500 Jewish people in Poland. She always felt like she could save more, but she did what she could. On April 19 there will be a film on the American CBS Channel about Irene. It stars Anna Paquin, Goran Visnjic, Marcia Garden Hay and there is a small part in it for Nathaniel Parker. I really hope everyone in the world gets to see this film. For me it is important that we never forget what happened there and that we have to fight to keep the earth a nice place for everybody to live, whatever religion, race, upbrining and other things. Life is to precious to waste on wars.

Like I said, many people risked their lives to save people and lots of people still do as there still is war going on in the world. I admire everybody who helps fight evil, but these 4 women are the ones that stand out for me. Anne Frank might not have been in the resistance or something else, she was only killed because she was Jewish.

From top to bottom you see Hannie Schaft, Irene Sendler and Anna Paquin and Nathaniel Parker as Irene Sendler and Doctor Majkowski in the Hallmark/CBS film The Courageous Heart Of Irene Sendler.

Interesting links for those who are interested in these ladies, except for my grandmother, as there is no site for her.The links are about the TV film, Irene Sendler, Hannie Schaft and Anne Frank.

http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/article1000110051/HallmarkSite/HallmarkHallOfFame/HHOF_TOP
http://www.irenasendler.org/facts.asp
http://conservativethoughts.us/2008/05/13/remembering-irene-sendler-woman-who-saved-2500-during-holocaust/http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?lid=1&pid=1
http://www.channels.nl/amsterdam/annefran.html

Thomas Hardy biography by Claire Tomalin

How excited I was when this book arrived. I have read Far From The Madding Crowd and am reading The major Of Casterbridge, so I wanted to know more about the author of these books. It is very well written and it was hard to put it away. There were some things that struck me in this book. Hardy started courting Emma, but they married after they met a few times (in 4 years that is), and from what I read in the book it doesn't look like it was a very happy marriage. So was his second marriage. When I read the book I had the feeling that Hardy was a bit of a depressing man. I can be wrong ofcourse, but the way he wrote his books and the way he behaved towards people made me think that. I can't compare the situation of then with the situation now. Times were different then and I am very happy that I live today and not in the time Hardy lived. As I said the book was well written, but I doubt if I would have liked Hardy when he was alive. There are also some photos and drawings in the book and they look nice and give a good view of the time people lived in, in the time Hardy lived. I have more biographies, by Robert Gittings, but for now I leave them for what they are. I felt a bit down when I did finish the book by Clairt Tomalin, and I want to feel happy.

The Haunted Mansion

As I am writing about creepy things I better go on with it. With many thanks to Phantom Manor I found out about Nathaniel Parker, who played Mr Gracey in the film The Haunted Mansion. But I wrote about that in an earlier blog. I wanted to see the film because I love the ride in the Disneyland Paris parc. I never went to the American parcs, a thing I hope to do one day. So the story was a bit new to me, made me excited. The fact that Eddie Murphy had the leading role I took with it. But what an annoying man it was in this film. The start of the film was about a man and a woman who were in love but got seperated by death. Then the film moves on to the area we live in now. It was a nice story to be honest, but after I saw this I had an empty feeling. Why didn't they show more of Master Gracey was my first thought. I would have love to see more about him and his beloved Elizabeth. They should have told us how they fell in love and what went wrong, before moving on the the "now a days". As I said, I found Eddie Murphy pretty annoying and I felt sorry for the other cast members who did a great job in this film. Next to Mister Gracey, I fell for the house. The Gracey Manor really is something that fits me like a glove. I love the house and the furniture in it. I do love old houses and castles and their furniture and it would have been wonderful to have looked on the set of the film. Or see the old costumes they used for the ghosts of the house. With many thanks to a dear friend, I was able to get a copy of the Art of The Haunted Mansion, which is a wonderful book with the most beautiful pictures of the house and the costumes. There is also a book called "Froom the Magic Kingdom to the Movie". But the artbook really stole my heart and so did the Gracey house. sometimes I dream that I live in a house like that. I guess it is one of the reasons I love costume dramas so much. The houses at the time were elegant and wonderful. In my opinion that is. For people who are interested in the Gracey family history, you can click on the link below this blog. You can visit the rest of that site as it will tell you all about the attraction and the film. I did write my own version of the history between Elizabeth and Edward Gracey, but that is a thing I keep for myself at the moment.

http://www.doombuggies.com/film_gracey.php

Phantom Manor

In Disneyland Paris you can find an old house on top of a hill. The house looks like it had better times. It was buildt during the Gold Rush time and it had happier times. Welcome to Phantom Manor. This is one of my favorite Disneyrides. Phantom Manor is not like the rides in other Disney parcs. Phantom Manor is a wonderful building with a great story. I heard all about it when I went to Disney University. Yes, it excisist and is for people who are starting their job in Disneyland Paris. Or at least, it was when I went to work there in 1996. I never knew there was a story behind Phantom Manor, but when I went with my fellow students and teacher and waited in the cue we got to hear the story behind it. The house was buildt by a man who went out to California during the Gold Rush. He got very rich and founded Thunder Mesa. The house was buildt on top of a hill and looked out over the small city and the river. The man married and he and his wife got a daughter. The daughter fell in love with a young man, who lived in the village. They wanted to get married. But there was one little problem. In the house lived a ghost who was very much in love with the daughter. He couldn't stand loosing her, so he had to take action. When the wedding day came the groom was nowhere to be found. The family looked all over the house and area, but no groom. The girl was very sad and didn't believe he was gone. Now a days strange things happen around and in the house. Lights are visible behind the windows and strange smoke comes out of the chimney. The place is deserted for years and years, but sometimes the doors open. Visitors can enter the house and look around. They might catch a glimpse of the bride, who is still searching her true love. They might hear her weeping and eerie music can be heard. On entering the ballroom it is possible that visitors get to see ballroom dancers. Glimpses of times past. Visitors also can hear a terrible laugh which makes them scared. A man can be seen, his face is strange and so are his clothes. Who is he and what is going on in the house. Not many people live to tell the tail. If you are lucky, you can end up in a shooting in the nearby Western city. I hope you are brave enough to visit the house and come out of it alive.

Far From The Madding Crowd

I finally had the chance to see this series on DVD. I have the DVD for some time now, and I finally sat down and watched it. I thought Pride and Prejudice was my favorite, but boy, am I wrong about that. Far From The Madding Crowd is a far more intriguing story about 3 men who love one woman. I fell very much for Gabriel Oak, the best part I saw Nathaniel Parker ever play in a film or series, and I was happy to find out that he was the winner after all. But between the first meeting with Bathsheba Everdene and their marriage, a lot happened. I am not going to tell the story here, as I think it is way to beautiful to discover by yourself. If you like the film, you also like the audiobook, read by Nathaniel Parker. Nat is one of the best reading voices I've ever heard. I shed a few tears when Gabriel proposed to Bathesheba for the second time. It was so well done, Nathaniel really deserves all the credit for this role. I will see this series more often now I know it is this good. It is really the best drama I've ever seen. I heartly recommand this film, book and audiobook to everybody who loves a good story with intrigues, romance and many more. It has everything I want to see or read in a story. This is a wonderful adeption and I hope they are not going to make more as they did with Pride and Prejudice and Vanity Fair, which was remade as film a few years ago. Far From The Madding Crowd really is a great series and I hope they are going to show it on the Dutch TV. I doubt that would happen as the series is 10 years old, but then who knows. If they are going to show it, they can put Bleak House by Charles Dickens (On the BBC a few years ago, with Charles Dance as wonderful, scary Tulkinghorn) on TV. But that is another story. I must say that I still don't like the character of Frank Troy in the series. You can see from miles away that he is no good. I have a sort of feeling for baddies in series and films and this is one for sure. In my opinion he got what he deserved.

Sleepless in Seattle

One of my favorite films is Sleepless in Seattle. I remeber seeing it in our local cinema (when we had one). It was a lovely film. I like films like this, romcoms with a romantic ending. I am not really into these so called action films where they show how many people they can hurt or kill in 2 hours. I think the story is important too. And the one of Sleepless in Seattle is a great one, in my opinion. It is about a man who looses the love of his life and moves with his son to Seattle. The son is very sad to see his dad so sad and hurt and he decides to call a radio programme to help his dad find a new wife. In the meanwhile a woman is on her way to family as it is Christmas eve and listens to this radioprogramme. She is very moved with the story behind it. It seems that every American woman listened to that programme as the man, Sam, and his son, Jonah, are receiving tons of letters from women who want to be Sam's new wife. One of them is Annie's, the woman on her way to her family. Jonah wants this lady to be his new mother. But there are some problems. Sam is dating a woman, who Jonah very much dislikes, and Annie is getting married to a very dull man called Walter. Jonah refuses to let the woman go and writes her a letter. He wants to meet her on top of the Empire States Building in New York on valentines day. Annie is in New York with Walter and Sam doesn't want to go to New York as he is dating this other woman, he thinks his son is going crazy. On valentines day, Sam discovers that Jonah is missing. He is on his way to meet his new mother. Jonah spends the whole day on top of the Empire States Building to ask every women up there if she is Annie. Annie is having a romantic dinner with Walter, when she sees the Empire States building lights up especially for valentines day. She tells Walter the truth and breaks of their engagement. She goes to the Empire States building to see if Sam and Jonah are there.

The good thing about this film is that Sam and Annie only meet twice in the film before they end up together. Annie is a journalist who wants to do some research on Sam and Jonah, and her boss allows her to go to Seattle. They only have eye contact in these moments and at the end they are together. Ofcourse they are. You can see it coming from miles around, but it is one of the reasons I like the film so much. I had a video tape of it, but I watched it so many times that it snapped. The DVD is a better alternative. It doesn't snap that easy. And Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are wonderful in this film. There is really magic when they meet. And the boy who played Jonah is a great actor too. I have no idea if he ever did something else after this film, but I really liked his way of acting. Sleepless in Seattle is really a kind of film for rainy, grey days, when you don't want to leave your house. I always get me a bunch of cookies or crisps and a cup of tea. I am always moved by the end of the film, even though I can almost spell the words they say.

Pride and Prejudice

The first time I heard about this story it was via a commercial on TV about the film that was about to come out in 2005. I really wanted to see it, as I like Keira Knightley as actress. A few days later I saw the making of Pride and Prejudice and I fell in love straight away. When I saw Mr Darcy I really felt very much in love. I went to see the film with a friend and her husband and I loved it. The only bad thing was that my friend whispered in my ear that she liked the film and asked me questions if I like Mr Darcy and so on. Also her hubby had to use the loo and prevented me from totally getting into the film. I was a bit annoyed with that and I went back on my own a week later. I really sank into the film. In the mean while I had seen the TV series with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy. I can't say which one is better, both Colin and Matthew play their own version. But I must say that I think that Matthew dared to show us how insecure and vulnerable Mr Darcy was. I prefer him over the Mr Darcy Colin played. No offence to Colin at all, just my opinion. I also think that the film was better cast. I loved Donald Sutherland as Mr Bennet and Brenda Blethyn as Mrs Bennet. Tom Hollander was hilarious as Mr Collins. I love the scene where he proposes to Elizabeth, a wonderful role by Keira Knightley. But my favorites are the two proposals by Mr Darcy and the letter he wrote to Elizabeth. I always shed a little tear when I see that scene. I saw the film 16 times in the cinema. I couldn't get enough of it. I have the DVD ofcourse, even the American as they have another ending then we had. They get to see Mr and Mrs Darcy kiss, the lucky bastards. That was a comment I heard a lot when the film ended, there was NO kiss in the film. I also bought the book and I can read it over and over again. It is a wonderful lovestory and very well written. I tried more books by Jane Austen but they didn't make me happy. The one book I really love is Pride and Prejudice. By Jane Austen that is. I really like the character Elizabeth Bennet. She shows courage, love and all the other emotions so well to me. Real girlpower and that in the 17/1800s. Jane is also a wonderful character, but she is a little to sweet, she doesn't dare to stand up against things. I really like the Bennet family, they are a one of a kind family to me. But I am really in love with Pemberley. They used Chatsworth for that and I hope to visit it one day, to step in Keira's/ Elizabeth's footsteps. Pride and Prejudice is really one of my favorites, and with Far From The Madding Crowd a book and film I can take to a deserted island. I am sure that I can spend a lot of days there with these books and DVD's.

Dear Fatty by Dawn French

This Thursday I was in town to do some groceryshopping. I walked into my favorite bookstore to see if the book I ordered was in. It was and I took it home. I started reading straight away. I haven't finished it yet, but it is a wonderful book already. Dear Fatty is written by Dawn French a great English comedian. It is a sort of biography, but then different. Dawn wrote letters to people she cares about and she is or was fan of. It is not a normal biography. This is much more fun. I love to read biographies, but most of them are just a story of someones life. A summing up of time. This one is totally different. It goes from young Dawn to older Dawn and back. She writes very funny and witty. She makes me see that I can be happy with the person I am. She writes about being fat, which I am not, in one letter I read. And the way she does it really makes me laugh and look at myself in a different way. She is talking about having 3 chins and having problems to buy bras in size 42H (I had no idea they had them in that size), and it is very recognizable, even though I have another shape of body then Dawn. I like her as comedian and she is a good writer too. It seems that this will be the only book she will ever write, but it really is a recomandation for those of you who want to have a laugh, but also want to read about Dawns life. Some of the letters are emotional aswell and Dawn captures it all so well. This book, not finished yet, is worth its money.

The Importance of Being Earnest

After reading Far From The Madding Crowd, The Importance of Being Earnest was on my list to read. I didn't realize it was a play untill I opened the small book. This is a book I couldn't put down. It really is a funny book to read. I loved it. Oscar Wilde really was not only famous for his trials, but also a very talented writer. I did read a book and a play now and they were really fun to read. This one was witty, funny and sharp. I have to see the film by Oliver Parker again. I saw it some years ago, but I really didn't get the story. Maybe that will be better now that I read the book. I still have a lot of books here that I still want to read, and it seems that the pile is only growing as I still buy books.

Far From The Madding Crowd

I finaly had the chance to read Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. I only found out before I started reading that I have the abridged version, so I just ordered the "proper" book on line. I started reading and I couldn't put it away. That hardly happens to me. It happened when I read Pride and Prejudice some years ago. Far From The Madding Crowd really is a charming, sad and lovely story. As I write it down I see that it looks a bit strange, but for me it is true. It is a very moving story, even in the abridged version. I felt very sad for Gabriel Oak when Bathsheba Everdene (how on earth did Thomas Hardy found a name like that) refused his proposal. I don't know why but I didn't like Frank Troy from the moment he walked into the story. He really was the bad guy from the moment I read his name. The story is very well written and I really seem to have a fascination for older and dead writers. I am really looking forward to read the "proper" book. I also have the audiobook read by Nathaniel Parker, who also played Gabriel Oak in the TV series. I still have to see it and listen to it. And I am sure that I love it. I think I better keep my kleenex ready when I see the film. I am really curious on other books by Thomas Hardy now. But first I have some other classics to read. This is really one of the best books I've ever read. It is in the top 2 of favorite books next to Pride and Prejudice.

Anna Parker

Anna Parker is someone I admire very much for her style of clothing, her acting and her interior design. I discovered her in a film called Othello. I watched that because I became a fan of Nathaniel Parker a little time before that. Anna is mentioned in the title role as Anna Patrick, her maiden name. I thought she was stunning, an actress like I hardly see anymore. There are very few actrices I like and Anna became one of them. I also became very fond of the style of director Oliver Parker. Later I found out that they are all 3 connected as Anna is Nathaniel's wife and Oliver is his brother. I found a few of Anna's films and TV series on line and it is really good to see them. I grow to like Anna more and more as actrice. But she gave it up when she and Nathaniel got children and after a small part in Rome, she never returned to acting. I think it is a loss, but she has found something else and I am more than happy with that. Last year I found a magazine called Living Etc where there was a feature on her house. I loved what she did with it. It is something I am looking for, for a long time. She gave me inspiration to buy certain things and change some things in my house. Anna also inspired me when it comes to clothes. She looks very stylish and feminine to me and I love the way she dresses. I don't like her because I am a Nathaniel Parker fan as people think sometimes. I really like her way of acting, clothing and interior design. I really hope to see more of her interior design, also in other houses. I am very curious on what she did there. You can see Anna's work as interior designer if you click on the links under this blog.

http://www.livingetc.com/housesGallery/article.php?id=224750&num=0

http://www.livingetc.com/houses/Stylish_white_house_article_224772.html#showpic

http://www.homesandgardens.com/homes/readershomes/Large_galleried_home_article_117615.html, Anna's old house.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0665811/, more about Anna's acting carreer.

Nate Berkus

Today I saw an episode of the Oprah Winfrey show and there was a very inspiring interior designer in her show. I saw him there before, but as I had very little intresting in Interior Design I didn't watch it properly. But this time I did and bpy, was this man inspiring. Nate Berkus gave some houses a complete make over. I got a lot of inspiration from him. Not as much as I get from Anna Parker, who remains my favorite interior designer, but he had some good tips for small houses. I find both Anna and Nate very inspiring, but the bad thing is that they cost me a lot of money (lol).

http://www.nateberkus.com/

The Duchess

I bought the book when I was in London last month and I took my time to read it. It is a very interesting book I must say. Parts did read pretty fast, but some took forever. The writer took her time to describe a lot. Not only the life of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, but also the politics from that time. Very interesting, but sometimes a bit long to read. I am very curious about the film now. It has been in the cinemas here with Keira Knightley in the leading role. The menage a trois from Georgiana, The Duke and their friend Bess was very intriguing, but one part bothered me a bit. When Bess had the Dukes child no one said something about it, but when Georgiana had the Earl of Grey's child, they were all in an uproar. It might have been the time, but I think it is disturbing. It felt like men could and can do everything while women couldn't and can't. In all it is a nice read and I recommand the book to all who are interested in biographies. It is a nice and intriguing book with a good view of the life lead by the "ton" at the time.

Interior design

Since a few months I am very interested in interior design. I never liked things like it, but lately I saw some very nice things that I want to try in my new flat. I move over a few years and maybe my ideas have changed by then, but right now I discovered a British interior designer called Anna Parker. I met her a few years ago, without knowing that she would be such an inspiration for me now. Anna's house is used for photoshoots for a lot of Britihs magazines and I must say that she keeps on surprising me by making subtile changes in her interior. Anna really is an inspiration for me and made me warm for interior design. I am not good at decorating myself, but I have some help and I am sure that I can find my own style one day. Her house looks very homy to me and that is what I really like. I find my inspirations in Homes and Gardens and Living ETC. I can get the last one only when I am in London as the magazine is not avaliable here. Too bad, as I really like the magazine a lot. It is much better than the magazines we have here. I am just at the start of the designer thing, but I am getting a lot of inspiration already.

P and P Interiors; 07956 404965

http://www.dinesen-floors.com/uploads/c_press/69_path_8322.pdf

http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/interiors/article4963154.ece

http://www.livingetc.com/housesGallery/article.php?id=224750&num=0

http://www.homesandgardens.com/homes/readershomes/Large_galleried_home_article_117615.html, Anna's old house

Inspiring magazines and sites:
http://www.homesandgardens.com/
http://www.livingetc.com/index.php

Jim Henson and Charles Dickens

They do have nothing in common, Jim Henson and Charles Dickens and still they do. First of all Brian Henson (Jim's son) made a wonderful version of the Christmas Carol called The Muppets Christmas Carol, and second of all they have my childhood in common. I always loved the Muppet Show and I still see myself in my pyjama's, with wet, combed hair and a bit of crisps on the couch watching Kermit and his friends. It was in English, but I never had any problems with it. There were always subtitles and I was a very good and fast reader, even at a very young age. I always had a laugh with Waldorf and Statler when they made their comments from their balcony. My altime favorites were Animal and the Swedish Chef, my favorite episodes were with Danny Kaye (an actor I admire) and Vincent Price. Ofcourse there were many shows and many guests but these I loved best. The funny thing is that they are still good. When I watch them now a days, I still laugh and it is still funny. At Christmas time there always was the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens on TV. I was always fascinated with the story and at a later age I started to read Dickens books in English. I think that Dickens is one of the writers you should read in English. If I read his stories in Dutch, the meaning of his words get lost.

When I was in London some years ago I visted the Dickens House. It is a wonderful house in London and it was great to walk into his footsteps. The house has a very impressive library. At the time I visited there was a lovely old lady there and we had a good chat about Dickens and his book. It was great to be able to visit the house. Every time I go to London I try to bring back a Dickens book. So far, I've collected a lot of them.

A few years ago I had the chance to visit a TV studio in Amsterdam. There was an interview with Brian Henson about the Muppets Christmas Carol. It was great and Brian was very nice. He brought the Storytellers Dog with him (also one of my favorite characters). One thing I do regret and if there is one day in my life I want to do over again it is this day. I didn't bring my photocamera as I didn't think they allow people to make pictures. After the taping Brian took all the time in the world to answer questions of fans and have his and the dogs picture taken. I didn't dare to ask some one to take mine (and have it send to me later), and now I regret it. Brian was really nice and the dog was big fun. I even had a chat with him. The Storyteller is a wonderful series of 9 tales, told by John Hurt (another fabulous actor) to his dog. It is out as a 3 set DVD series and if you like fairytales, you will love this. I didn't like the other series about the Greek stories, but the ones with John Hurt are really wonderful.

2 people who are already dead and who I admire dearly. Jim Henson and Charles Dickens, 2 people who have nothing in common, but still I love to read their books and see their shows

http://www.dickensmuseum.com/
http://www.henson.com/

London

The first time I visited London I was 16 or 17 years old. I know that my then friend and I spend all our time in recordshops to find stuff on Duran Duran. For the rest I remember the boat trip that made me sick and decide to never go to England by boat again. I went another few times with other friends for concerts of Duran Duran. But a few years ago I wanted to see London in Christmas time. 5 years ago I went to London on my own and I saw a lot of the city. Walking through a town is the best way to get to know a town. Since then I go every Christmas time to shop, see films and to walk around. I also try to go to London some other times of the year. One time I discovered the Regal Room, which is a small concert venue where talented singer songwriters sing and play their new songs. I also discovered Hampton court Palace, Camden, Leicester Square, Oxford Steet and Regent Street. Some nice shops I discovered are GAP, Accecoires and Boots. I realy like visiting London. I go by Eurostar and one sometimes by plane. I prefer to go by Eurostar as you arrive in the middle of the city. 2 years ago I won a competition and won tickets for the European Stardust premiere and a stay in London. I had an amazing time and it was nice to walk the red carpet. London really is one of my favorite cities and I love to visit it every year. It is always funny to see how the people behave in the subway. Everything is so organized. If I try to catch a train here on another platform, I miss it for sure as nobody gives you space to move. It made me see that Dutch people really don't know how to behave in situations like that. Same goes for trains. Everybody waits untill the passengers are out of the train. Here they love to come in, while you still have to get out. Ofcourse there bad things about London too, but I haven't seen them yet. I think that London really is a brilliant place to visit. You can shop till you drop, visit museums, parcs and lots of other things. The theatres have good musicals and the biggest stars hit the stage in London. London really has a special place in my heart. One of my favorite places in London is the National Portrait Gallery. It is really wonderful to see portraits through the ages. Another thing I love to do is walk. My favorite walk goes from Westminster to the South bank. I walk from Trafalger Square to the Big Ben. From there I cross the bridge and descent to walk towards the London Eye. From there on I can walk miles forever and there is always a tube station close by. Or a bridge that takes you back to the other side of the river. I am looking forward to my next visit.

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and other crimedramas

When I was young my grandparents always watched German Dramas like Der Alte, Tatort and Derreck. I never liked this kind of series as they were a bit bloody. I don't like to see that kind of series. I was very young at the time and they also never let me watch with them as I always knew who did it. The same thing happened when my sister and I watched Baantjer, a very populair Dutch crime drama. I always made jokes about who did it and I ended up having it right 9 times out of 10. I never watched and crimedramas ever since. Then I discovered Nathaniel Parker and I found out that he played in a British crimedrama called The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. The first episode I saw was A Suitable Vengeance and I loved it. Not only I saw Nathaniel Parker, but I loved the story and the plot. The most important thing was that they didn't show any blood or how the murder was committed. I became a fan of the series. Then I started to look around for other series and discovered Midsomer Murders and Frost. The last one was an eye opener for me. I had no idea about the character and the actors in the series but I started to watch an episode when it was on TV. It was like I was looking in a mirror and found an older and male version of myself. I loved Frost from the moment I saw him. Not the looks, but the character. Lynely has both the good looks and the character, but Frost was really wonderful. The way he treats his boss Mr Mullet was just hilarious. And George Toolan was a nice bonus. My altime favorite Frost episode is No Other Love. That one has it all. The end is very sad as one of his colleagues is murdered. The way they filmed that was like I never saw before. At first I thought it was Frot himself that was killed, but it was poor Clive Barnhard that was killed. Another great episode is when Frost has to look after a dog called Kai. He and Kai make a very good team.

Unfortunatly for me Frost is going to end this year. David Jason is 68, and there is nothing wrong with that, but one time it has to come to an end. I am sure they make a wonderful episode of it. Less can be said of the final Lynley episodes. They are very good and gripping, but the BBC announced the end of the series so they were never able to make a proper ending to the series. It is too bad that the BBC is cutting Lynley and spending their money on other things. I understand that it is expencive to make these series, but they make a lot of money for the BBC too. Lynley was one of the best sold series to foreign countries. It is very scary to read my own thoghts on Lynley in interviews by Nathaniel Parker. I discussed the end of the series, and before that the lack of promotion by the BBC for the series with friends. I was deeply dissatisfied with the way the BBC treated the series. Never a cover on the RadioTimes, while they have 20 Doctor Who covers a year (if not more). They didn't do anything to promote the last series. I was very surprised to see my own words coming out of the mouth of my favorite actor. When I met Nathaniel in May last year I asked him if he was able to read minds. I told him that we have the excact same thoughts about this. It gave him a good laugh. Due to lack of information on the Lynley series I decided to start my own website for the series. After some problems I am working on the site for 2 years now and it has over 30.000 visitors. I place a lot of information on the series there, but also on Nathaniel and Sharon Small, the leading actors of the series. Nathaniel is very happy with the suport as he thanked me for it when I met him in Windsor. I am more than happy to have the site up. The series might have ended, but the site keeps going on. The only crimedrama that is left for me is Midsomer Murders and I hope that John Nettles stays in very good health and don't decide to stop the series. I have DVD's of all the series, but it is always nice to see my favorite crimedramas on TV. The BBC waste its money now on programs that are really rubish in my opinion. I think it is better to put some money in a good crimedrama than in a 13 in a dozen show. I prefer to see a good film or crimedrama, and I don't want to see skating with the stars, dancing with the stars, shopping with the stars and whatever they call these programmes. I always liked the BBC for their good drama series, but it seems that they have given up on most of them. At least the good crimedramas. The other dramas like Cranford, Bleak House and Little Dorrit were wonderful and I hope they go on with that. For the many fans of the Lynley series I send the link to my Lynley fansite.


http://www.theinspectorlynleymysteries.net/

The portrait of Dorian Gray

I finished the book last night and I must say that I loved it. It was well written and I could see everything very clearly in my imagination. I could see the pain of Dorian. The only thing that bothered me was that the phrases were long, too long sometimes. For the rest I have no comments at all on the book. I wonder why it was such a scandalous book at the time it came out. I guess it has to do with the time the people lived in. I am really looking forward to see the Oliver Parker film about the book now. I have to wait a while for that, but that is fine with me. I am sure he does a good job with this one. This book became one of my favorites and I am sure that I read it again. Now I read the Dutch version and I am looking forward to read it in the original language too. Most of the times that is even better than a translation as the meaning of the author doesn't get lost. I hope it arrives soon.

Change of habit

I never cared much for clothing, make up and jewlry. All I ever wore were jeans, a t-shirt and shoes. You could draw me out, as we say in Holland, in these kind of clothing. Very comfortable and I didn't have to think about what to wear. I wore the same anyway. I saw women who got up very early, just to do their make up. I thought they were all out of their mind. I still think so though, but I am happy we are not all the same. It all changed 1 or maybe 2 years ago. I am a fan of Mylene Farmer and I loved her style of clothing, but it was a bit to much for me. I am also very fond of a former actress, now interior designer called Anna Patrick (people in the UK can still see her from time to time in the series Maisie Raine). When I saw pictures of Anna I was always drawn to her style of clothes. It came closer to what I like. I also met a dear friend that inspired me on very simple combinations. I also discovered the GAP in London. We don't have that store in the Netherlands. I bought a few things there and everybody here loved the clothes I got there. Last time I was in London for Christmas shopping I left the GAP with two bags of clothes. I am sure they are happy to see me back this summer. I like my style a bit gypsy and feminine. I am blessed with a figure like Keira Knightley and Anna Patrick, skinny and tall (Anna that is). It is hard to get clothes here as the sleeves are to short for me most of the time. With GAP clothes they are even to long for me. Not much, but I really like it. I hope they will open stores in Holland too one day. I will be the first customer to buy there for sure.

When it comes to make up I discoverd some nice things in Paris a few years ago. The make up style of Keira Knightly in Pride and Prejudice seemed ideal to me. I want to wear make up you don't see. A very natural kind. In Gallery LaFayette they helped me very kindly and I was lucky that there was a soldes at the moment, so I got some Revlon and L'Oreal stuff with discount. I am still expiering with it, but only natural coulours. I bought some cheper make up too, but I really see the difference between cheap make up and make up that cost a bit more. So I prefer to buy more expencive make up that stick on my face the whole day if needed. In the Netherlands I discovered Douglas, a wonderful store where you can buy all kinds of make up and perfumes. I like Burberry, J'Adore (Dior) and Madame (Jean Paul Gaultier) very much. the nice thing with Douglas is that they give you samples of new perfumes when you buy something there so you can try them at home. The perfumes I like are not cheap, but they are worth it. I am sure that there are more good ones, but these are the ones I like. I can't stand anything from Gloria Vanderbildt. When I wear that perfume everybody tells me that I smell very bad, so I used it twice and that was it. I like my perfume a bit flowery.

I was also never interested in jewlery. In my youth there was a group of women called Dolly Dots and they always had wonderful earrings, so I got earrings when I was 12 or 13. I never did much with it to be honest. But again, Anna Patrick showed me how to wear nice jewlry. Also my dear friend Jill was an eye opener in London last month. She introduced me to Accecoires. That was a very wrong thing to do, as I didn't stop shopping there either. It seems that they are on every London streetcorner. Oxford street is a very dangerous street for me as it has many Accecoires shops and GAP's. In Holland I visit Claire's regulary and the new thing is a Pandora bracelet. You just buy the bracelet and friends or family can buy charms for the bracelet. Ofcourse you can buy them yourself too. I thought they were a Dutch invention, but I just found out that they are an international branch.

For some reason I changed when it comes to clothing, make up and jewlery. I guess it has something to do with the things that happened in my life lately. I have been dealing with some heavy things and I am well on my way to recovery from them. If you are curious about the clothes, jewlery, perfumes and make up I like, you can click on the following links.

http://www.pandorauk.com/
http://pandorasite.nl/
http://www.douglas.nl/
http://www.gap.com/
http://uk.burberry.com/

Favorite books

Since I was a child I love to read. My mother told me that I was born with a book in my hands and with a headset on my ears, as I also love to listen to music. When I was young I read all the books about the Famous Five by Enid Blyton. Later on my intrest was elsewhere. the last few years I read a lot of books in English, also because I like a lot of English/American writers, and I think the best way to read a book is in the original language. I always feel that the soul steps out of the book when it is translated in other languages. The little jokes in the book don't work really good if they are translated. I read a lot of books both in English and Dutch as I want to see how the translater did the work. They did a great job when it comes to the Harry Potter books. They were translated good. I started to read these when I saw everybody around me reading them. There must have been something special about them. If I am not sure to buy a book or not, I always go to the bookstore and open the book somewhere halfway and start reading a page or two. If I like the styl I buy it and if I don't I put it back. I did like the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings books, so they are in my possession, in both English and Dutch.

There is one favorite that I can read over and over again. Pride and Prejudice is a wonderful book for me and when I finished it for the first time, I started again. It is very well written and it is just a wonderful book. I tried to read more Jane Austen books, but they were not my kind of thing. Two writers I really admire are Charles Dickens and Neil Gaiman. When I was young I saw Oliver Twist on TV and I was very impressed. Some years later I bought the book and since then I try to buy a Charles Dickens book every time I visit London. Bleak House is one of my favorites. The BBC made a series of it with Nathaniel Parker, Charles Dance (who was a very scary Mr Tulkinghorn) and other great actors. At the moment I am reading Little Dorrit, and it is wonderful. I visited the Charles Dickens house in London once and it was fantastic to walk around there.Neil Gaiman I got to know through the film Stardust. After seeing the film I read the book and got curious about other books he wrote. My favorite so far are Anansi Boys and Neverwhere. I love the sence of humour Neil has and the sort of macabre atmosphere in the books.

Other authors I like are Elizabeth George, JK Rowling, Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. Elizabeth George is the author of the Inspector Lynley books. Ofcourse everybody knows JK Rowling for her Harry Potter books. I am curious what the future will bring now these series has come to an ending. Shakespeare is a bit hard to read, but if I take my time I get there. Oscar Wilde is someone I discovered just lately. As I mentioned in another blog, I was always fascinated by the story about Dorian Gray and now I have the Dutch Version.

I also like to read biographies and the one from Jay Leno, which I bought in Nashville a few years back is the best one. I tried to read it on a flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam but I had to stop. It was so funny that I had to laugh, while everybody around me was sleeping. I didn't want to wake them up so I put the book aside. I read it from time to time and I still have to laugh if I read "Leading with my chin". Jay has a very nice style of writing and some pictures are funny too. I like Jay as talkshow host, and this book showed me that he was funny when he was young.

Many books I read lately I discovered with many thanks to films or TV series with my favorite actor Nathaniel Parker. He played in some TV drama's as Vanity Fair and Far From The Madding Crowd. They showed me what a wonderful actor he is, but I also got very curious about the books, so I bought them aswell.

As for audiobooks, I was never interested in them, untill I got to know that Nathaniel Parker read a lot of them. I collect his audiobooks now and it is a pleasure to listen to them. My favorite is The Water Horse. It is a children's book, but so well read. I hear the fun in his voice. It always makes me smile to listen to that audiobook. I have a lot of Nathaniel's audiobooks on 2 MP3 players and when I have a long travel by train they are a treat for the ear. When I ride my bike I can't listen to them as the cars and other trafic makes so much noise that I can't hear Nathaniel speak, so I save the audiobooks for long travels. And with many thanks to some friends I keep on discovering new authors and books. And I am more than happy with that.

Mylene Farmer

Somewhere in the early 90 I listened to the radio and I heard a catchy song that I didn't understand at all. I knew it was French and that was it. I soon found out that it was a Frnech singer called Mylene Farmer. I went to the library and rented the CD that was out at the time (L'Aurtre). It was a nice cd with a few nice songs. I copied the CD to cassette and listened to it a lot. After a while I forgot about Mylene. In the summer of 1996 I worked for a few months in Disneyland Paris and early 1997 some friends showed me a Live CD from a singer from France. They asked me if I ever heard of her. It was a CD from Mylene (Live a Bercy) and I was attracted by the design of the CD and I remembered the song Desenchantee from my old cassette. I was in Paris and I bought the CD and Video (as I didn't have a DVD player at the time). of the concert. I was totally blown away by the show. I started to collect all Mylene's CD's and video's. I also found some magazines dedicated to Mylene.

In 1999 she did the Mylenium tour and I thought it was time to see Mylene live. I gave myself a belated birthday present and went to Bercy for a concert. It was amazing. I still remember the head on the stage that opened. Mylene flew out of it. I couldn't believe that I was at a concert, and I was flabagasted. I really enjoyed the show. Mylene doesn't have a powerful voice. I like it very much but I can't really sing along with her as I always end up with a soar throat. But her dancing was just wonderful. I also went to Brussels twice for a concert. It was something you hardly see. It was a great shows with costume changes, dancers, a great band and a wonderful light show.

In 2005 Avant Que L'ombre came out and a series of concerts in Bercy was announced. The prices were way to high for me. And the concerts were sold out faster that I could speel Mylene's name. But I went to Antwerp to buy the CD. I noticed that the FNAC still had tickets left for the series of concerts. I gave it a try and I got the cheapest ticket that still costed me 60 Euro's (The most expencive tickets were 132 Euro). In January 2006 I went to the concert and it was fabulous. I had a great seat, front row on the right of the stage. I could see everything prefect. The only bad thing for me was the film that was shown before the concert. It was a sort of Chinese film or Japanese and I didn't understand it. It was also way to long for me. I was more than happy to see it end. I called my mother to tell her that I had a good seat, and one of the people that were below me, in the backstage area, looked up. When I ended my phonecall he asked me what someone from Holland was doing here. I told him that I loved Mylene's music and asked him what he was doing there. Mylene had 2 stages with moving things on it and these moving things didn't work properly. She hired a company from Holland to put these things on stage and this man was trying to fix the error. He never heard of Mylene and I told him that she is an artist you love or hate. There is no way in between. The show was wonderful and Mylene looke stunning. Time really flew and it was great to see her life.

In 2008 she brought out a new CD called Point De Suture and when I heard the first single, Degeneration, I was very disappointed to hear it. The melody was catchy and that was it. I bought the CD anyway and was pleasantly surprised. It was a good CD except for the first and the last song of the CD. Mylene also announced some new concerts, but this time in stadiums. the prices this time are really to high for me and I don't like stadium concerts. For me they are to big, I want to see the singer or band on stage and in a stadium you hardly see anything, is my experience. So I miss the concerts this year. I am sure Mylene will make a DVD of it so I can see it anyway. I really think it is too bad that the prices has to be so high. Mylene is one of the best sold artists in France and she is well known in France, Canada and even in Russia and other countries around the world.

Mylene hardly gives interviews or does TV shows. Her video clips are minifilms and can be seen on You Tube and various other sites. Mylene is my favorite French singer. I like others like Marc Lavoine, Alain Souchon, Julien Clerc and Zazie, but I prefer to listen to Mylene.

More on Mylene can be found here: http://www.mylene.net/, http://www.innamoramento.net/ and http://www.mylenefarmer.nl/.