Wednesday 10 May 2023

CORONATION WEEKEND

 What is real and what is fake is something I love to question. The rain last weekend for the Coronation was real but with the joy and happiness the British shared we could only be merry. There was so much to see and talk about. Weddings along the King's Road continued and I was lucky enough to be included in the wedding of Opera Singer Melinda Hughes who pulled out all the stops and found Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the wonderful car from the film that her Father Ken Hughes had directed.  I loved her dress make-up and hair. There were a few minutes of sunshine between King Charles's Spaniels parading down the King's Road and the Oathes taken by King Charles to uphold our constitution and then we all sang Zadok the Priest by Handel with gusto. Street Parties were the most amusing I dashed in and dashed out. The Royal women wore white wreaths of flowers around their heads and Princess Charlotte shone out from the crowd. It was a Coronation of "Do gooders" everybody trying to do the right thing.

Our Royal family are now confirmed social workers with enough scandal to keep the people interested. I even was lucky enough to have tea at my house for Meghan and Harry who stirred the crowd along the river banks. Don't believe all you hear they were cheered along like the rest of them. All in good humour, photographer Alison Jackson made my day with her "Truth is Dead" show famous for her look-alike paradies.
Nobody does the Royal Show like the British.

Friday 17 March 2023

OSCARS AND MORE IN HOLLYWOOD


 have been smiling since this morning because of the 'kindness of strangers'. One lovely person sent me a photograph from Ancestry.co.uk of my Grandmother who I had never met, Valda Foreman. She was persona non grata and had three children under 23. She ran away from home and never saw her children again. In the 1930's this was shocking and clearly, she had post-natal depression. In her photograph, she looked like a radiant bride with a Gatsby look. Very fashionable.

This was a good surprise as I arrived back from a whirlwind tour of Los Angeles. In the rain, it was not the same but at the Oscars, the best dressed in my opinion were Cara Delevigne and Florence Pugh. I was at boarding school with Cara's Mother, Pandora who saved me from being bullied. Pandora probably does not remember but I do, Cara was dressed in Ellie Saab and of course, as a number one model had an unfair advantage of height and beauty, but she killed it. Florence Pugh dressed in black hot pants and an opera coat by Valentino was modern and glamorous. Truly though they were really the only ones, the rest looked like they should be on a beach, with too much tummy and legs. I am old fashioned I like no drugs, no drink and a body covered up. This appears to be entirely old-fashioned in Hollywood where Ganga stores are on every corner.
In any case without the help of Interior designer Nicky Haslam getting me into parties, my Oscar night was spent comfortably in the Hollywood Hills in a Portuguese Palace of my friend Mara. she wore designer pyjamas and I wore my uniform, black Burberry 24-year-old skirt and a Versace sweatshirt. We were very happy under the blankets watching Hugh Grant lose all sense of reason and I hate to say it was extremely rude for no reason. He is in the business of show business after all.
The Oscars need to be careful as they are easily in my opinion beaten by reality shows especially those on real crime stories. where last week Murdaugh was put into prison with two life sentences for killing his wife and son. Judge Newman won for good manners and empathy under difficult circumstances.
Getting back to fashion, the talk in general is about buying vintage or second-hand. To save the planet and get better quality. Clothes are becoming too expensive and it is uncool to spend money when people are suffering after all that has gone on.
I was however entertained beautifully in Sue Wong's amazing house in Los Feliz which was turned into a Morrocan Palace. I was hosted also by Tamia Abaye owner of a hotel in Santa Monica, and then also given a very generous dinner at Soho House by Nigel Daly and Wes Carroll. I sadly missed Loree Rodkin's party as my flight was delayed due to bad weather. I am a huge fan of her jewellery. With kindness from Mara Granderson who had me stay in her guest wing, I was treated like a Queen.
I stayed two nights in The Prospect hotel which looked stunning decorated by Martyn Lawrence Bullard and. one night at The Chateau. I was a very lucky girl.
I was also introduced to an outsize clothing range by Gigirl which runs from size 10-26.
Next year God give us good weather and Los Angeles will shine again.

Monday 20 February 2023

STOP THE DEVIL WORSHIP


What is it about Devil Worship? Must fashion and the film World be interested in the underworld?  
It is why I am becoming increasingly political as I get older. I am not fascinated by the nefarious.

This week I went to a lecture hosted by John and Irina Mappin at the Conservative Carlton Club with Lady Victoria Hervey on Vaccines.
It was truly glamorous, more than the freak fashion world where any piercing wacko seems to descend into hell. Dr Robert Malone spoke with other luminaries and educated us about big Pharma and the World Health Organisation. Truly fascinating. Check out his work. Everybody in the room was good-looking and health-conscious. Then there was the farming expert Eva Vlaardingerbroek who is fighting for Farmers in Holland. Clever and blonde she is
at the forefront of what is happening to our earth. 
I also had dinner and a concert with Belinda Carlisle. She rocked the night away at The Palladium, overflowing with male fans. Again with Lady Victoria Hervey and Lady Colin Campbell who is an expert with a huge online following about Meghan and Harry. I did one YouTube with her and got 68,000 views, a rarity.
Both looked very chic watching Belinda's high energy on stage.
Each Week End I try to appreciate England and visit new places and connect with old friends. I went to Daylesford Land, home of the Bamfords and spent time with Nicholas Haslam, wit and raconteur.
Fashion Week and BAFTAs seem far away and inane when people of substance are fighting to make the world a better place. Pam Hogg Show was a mixture of colour and textures but again the Devil was making an appearance. Oh for the serene. Oh for bible studies again.
The Saatchi Gallery has a terrific show on Street art which had a huge amount of supporting artists from all over the world especially from Los Angeles. The exhibition  "Beyond the streets has been travelling" caused a stir. There is never a dull moment in this creative space in Chelsea. 
Clear up our own life. Let's all individually be responsible, let's be liberated from the woke.

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Enjoy the Oscars by all means, p.s I did love The Princess of Wales, a reworked dress by Alexander Mcqueen with earrings from Zara at the BAFTA's and Emma Thompson looked the coolest. Therefore very green on the red carpet.