Eivør - Bridges (Official Album Teaser)

TRUTH BETTER THAN FICTION ALWAYS

Since the beginning of the year I have had some comedy episodes.  It started with going to the Oscars and on my way out losing my car pass. A pink unmissable piece of paper, then, because the car was late and I dared comment about it, being told I was a sixty year old woman and that I should not complain.  The facts are facts I am 54, born 1960. I do not need anybody's help and can drive myself to any party. I just hate being late, I think it is rude so I took off my clothes and cuddled up with my hairdresser girlfriend Angela Kalinowski. I drank a bottle of Dom Perignon, which I would never normally do,  and watched the Oscars from the comfort and luxury of my hotel suite at The Beverly Hills Hotel. It felt good. I slowly became happier and happier as the people I wanted to win, won.
Then there was the dramas of house buying the market in Los Angeles which is so fast that I ended up putting three offers on houses in one day. The market is so fast that you are lucky to get past the starting block.

WORTH MAKING LOVE FO

I adore Tamara de Lempicka, and she is having a show in Turin. I  own a lot of her furniture, as the woman who eventually bought my  apartment in Paris did not want Mallet Steven's pieces made for Tamara, I am lucky to have them for my enjoyment. However my friend who is meant to be more than a friend, went to the show without me. This would have been fine, but I had had him to stay in the apartment. and we had met over his painting. I of course just wanted to see the best painting in the world "the girl in a red dress" hang pride of place. Forgetting it was the most romantic place that I have ever lived in, he slammed the door on my jammy wet fingers. The house in Rue Mechain has so many memories for me. I was trapped in the lift with my lover as he kissed my neck, I made passionate love on Tamara's sofa. The incredible staircase designed by Mallet Stevens that left you in awe, and the two exits in the substantial artist studio in Montparnasse.  I used to listen to Bach being played by an incredible pianist downstairs called Nelly.  On top of that I worked so hard with a friend to bring the apartment at 7 rue Mechain tastefully back to life. I felt a connection with Tamara she haunted me and I agree with her statement that she lived on the margins of society where normal rules don't apply as she lived on the fringe. Me too, We both love net over our faces, hiding our truth and pain...

A DRAWING AT THE IVY SALE AT SOTHEBYS BY LUCIEN FREUD

I then went to see the drama of Antigone and argued like Juliette Binoche all the way back in a taxi, whilst discussing whether the Greeks really do have vile characters where they wish to kill everybody.   There was also the question whether it was actually based on Josephine Hart's brilliant book "Damage" where each line was a pearl.  The film was not up to much. Despite the script by David Hare, Directed by Louis Malle, Juliette Binoche and  Jeremy Irons, there was little sexy in it, the book had it all. After a dinner, there followed much debate on Dolce and Gabbana's faux pas. or was it freedom of speech which others were arguing?. My goodness never a dull moment.

JULIETTE BINOCHE WITH JEREMY IRONS IN DAMAGE

With social media as strong as it is today, you don't need PRs looking after you round the clock you can do it yourself. That is the danger and its success.

Two days ago, I put a statement up on Facebook saying that "What on earth am I going to wear since Galliano has been insulting to the Jews and I chopped up his clothes (which of course is not true), Vivienne Westwood, chose to be anti British when she has received all the benefits of being a British, so I binned the tartan, which is true as she has certainly enjoyed the accolades of being a British Dame. and Dolce and Gabbana called IVF children "Synthetic" saying they needed both a mother and a father.  Wow the eclipse definitely made its mark. A huge row ensued between David Furnish, Elton John and the designer. Quite rightly the children do not want to be thought of as "Nylon and Plastic"

Last night I went to see lots ready to be sold at Sothebys for the Ivy Restaurant. Beautiful drawings of Virginia Woolf, Lucien Freud and Tracey Emin hanging together with tables set for Mrs Thatcher at the start of the Faulkland crisis.

TRACEY EMIN's DRAWING AT SOTHEBYS IVY RESTAURANT SALE

Previously I had gone round to a friends house and I am now definitely terrified of dogs, the only place safe was the bath. I was being taught by a twelve year old how to be cool. She was saying "Don't smile. pout, put two fingers open against the mouth" "Listen to me. pout"  I was quite nervous to get it wrong.

After the rather sad 'end of an era' sale at Sothebys, where the doors of the famous Ivy restaurant were being sold off,  I went off to the new hotel hidden away on Duke Street, The Belmont for potted shrimps and liver pate with my great girlfriend the glamorous and witty Trinny Woodall, where we discussed her make up line and how to charm Wikipedia.

AMANDA ELIASCH, HENRY WYNDHAM and TRINNY WOODALL

This attitude will give you success in Hollywood listen to Bernard Hiller: Who wants to know you? I never hear no.

THREE ENGLISH WOMEN ON COVERS OF GENLUX MAGAZINE

The good things about Los Angeles you can go from one extreme to another. One minute at Physique57 to an extreme yoga work out in Beverly Hill, the next, go on a hike in the hills above Sunset. One minute you can be meeting some famous dude, and the next having coffee with a homeless girl whose life did not have a plan B. Yesterday I met two friends both concerned about girls with no plan A, B, C or D, who arrive in Los Angeles, with stars in their eyes.  Julia Verdin is making a film to help these unfortunate girls. This city can be harsh if you have no plans, cash or talent. It is for the highly ambitious and you need to have direction otherwise you could end up doing things you would rather not be involved in. The underbelly is very colourful.
Listen to the advice that Bernard Hillier gives on Lip TV. Follow it, because its true.
In Los Angeles I love to stay at The Chateau Marmont because it is lively and the crowd good-looking. The cottages there are completely divine in a not too luxurious way, although they have everything.
There is another good thing about LA you get encouraged, and as an English woman of uncertain age I have been given opportunities that simply would not happen in London. I would love to work as a fashion editor in London, but the Los Angeles based magazine, Genlux, asked me. I am also on a billboard for my film in Hollywood, The gun the cake and the butterfly  and so my loyalty has to be to this incredible city where the lights are harsh but boy when it shines on you, it shines.  The following are three English women who were given covers on my Magazine who supports women of uncertain age.. Elizabeth Hurley from the new series The Royals about the Royal Household, a spoof on what its like in the Palace, Lisa Vanderpump of Beverly Hills Housewives and lastly me.

LISA VANDERPUMP

AMANDA ELIASCH

ELIZABETH HURLEY

COFFEE
Arriving in London off the plane, I immediately was interviewed for a television programme about exotic goods. I never realised that a coffee bean could be so expensive, and a cup of coffee could be three hundred and fifty pounds. That it was really created by a cat, called a wild civet, that eats the fruit and expels the bean through bodily functions. I wondered during the interview if I was being set up, but as I had just got off a plane was hardly in a state to argue?. The coffee I was assured was made with the cats running about freely in  Sumatra. However you simply do not know. It all tasted so delicious, but so does Foie gras. 

DIOR AND I
a film by Frederic Tcheng
 I was lucky enough to be invited to Charles Finch's exclusive opening of Dior and I, which seriously touched me and rocked my soul. Although sadly Galliano was "exterminated" from the film, I can honestly say that the documentary drama of Raf's first couture show, had me gasping in so many directions. I fell for the women working behind the scenes creating beautiful dresses that they found difficult to let go. One woman Monique was so brilliant that I wanted to hug her. It was moving and telling. Raf himself showed humility, stubbornness, frailty, distance, vision and panache. I became aware of the costs of these couture shows, which I already knew about, but for me this film brought home the real costs of human pressure and the cost of talent. You realised the pressure Galliano had been under as you saw Raf Simons break down in tears. You understood without anything being said. I was glad however that Suzy Menkes stood up and said something about Galliano not being mentioned. I understand why he was not, but for goodness sake has he not been punished enough? Galliano had brilliance that few have and we desperately need him, back, working and confident. Thank goodness Martin Margiela took him on.

Among the guests were Danny Huston, Bianca Jagger, Bryan and Tara Ferry and the lovely Nicky Haslam. Danny Huston and I were discussing the costs of flowers for the show, I used to work at Kenneth Turner Flowers and I can only imagine the drama of budget.
All I can say is thank you for including me.

MY FIFTY SHADES OF COLOUR, FORGET GREY

I love lace and I love silk against my body. Often a boyfriend accuses me of wearing my underwear on the outside, I love this. I hate showing flesh unless it was possible to remain 24 forever. Time gallops at a pace, but I still feel 24, and although my sons treat me like "the old gal indoors" I am more sprightly now than when I was young. Clothes that I like to wear to excite and amuse me are the following. The idea of Fifty Shades of Grey will raise your pulse rate, but watching it may not. Films on sex are not for me, I prefer to use my own imagination  and the book sound a little kitsch. However it should entice you into buying sexier kit and these are some of my favourites.

Beds and bedrooms, kitchen, drawing rooms, cupboards should have space for excitement and amusement, hidden away from the rest of the world.

CHANTAL THOMASS BED

COCO DE MER

LA PERLA

THE GREAT AND THE GOOD

I love architecture and architects. I love John Woolf, Hal Levitt, Neutra, Richard Dorman, Richard Rogers, Howard Crane and Norman Foster. Most of all I like the work of Frank Gehry. Yesterday I was telephoned at eight in the morning to interview the greatest architect in the world for Liberatum and Swire, Frank Gehry. Life is funny, only a week ago I was in love with a house of his that has come up for sale, I wanted it. I was to ask him about technology and how it helped him, and what he saw in the future. I was meant to be giving a birthday lunch for my good friend Julie Anne Rhodes, who owns the Roving Stove and is ex wife of Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran. I telephoned her and said lets forget food and go and meet this wonderful man. Instead of guzzling at the Chateau,  we stopped at Starbucks and enjoyed a coffee and went on to Gehry's studio in Los Angeles. Life is beautiful in the the architects office, you feel the passion,  there is so much to learn from people that I never stop enjoying it. Of course there are days when I could open the coffin lid and like everybody else, but I enjoy the seasons, the first flowers the autumn leaves. At over eighty, Gehry gives us all hope. I am not going to spoil exactly what was said as it is going to be in a film for Liberatum and Swire, only that he give us hope and with his brilliant mind he knows what he would like to achieve for the future. His ideas for schools are incredible and his humour about being alive to see a building finished in the Middle East amusing. Quietly spoken and relaxed I could have happily spent two days talking with him. This is the beauty of Liberatum  and all the work they do. They bring knowledge to the world so it is accessible to us all. Their film will enhance your life. Thank you Swire for helping their dreams come alive.

Still in Los Angeles where the sun never stops, I am trying to enjoy the gym again. Having found the combination of yoga and weights at Physique 57 I will try to enjoy it three times this week before I go home to London which apparently is in the middle of the heat wave. Before that there is an opening that Stephen Webster jewellery shop, a opening at Saks and a new  Genlux Magazines cover with Liz Hurley on it as our new Queen.  Then there is a hike to enjoy with some dogs too. I am not going to crawl into a coffin just yet. Too much to enjoy.

I have also learnt that when I have doubt over somebody, I will wait until they fuck up, it has never proved me wrong. I do not want anybody to damage my fragile persona, I can watch television instead.

BILLBOARD FUN. Don't get mucked around use social media, even the Galleries agree.

It is  supposedly a quieter week in Hollywood, but I fell in love with a new house well sort of until I looked at all the paper work all over again.  The Americans like the French like endless forms. All legal looking that make you feel sick, so I cancelled the word Escrow from my vocabulary.

Today I was sent this photograph of Isabella Blow, heaven knows when it was taken but at some party I gave round 2002 I should think, perhaps a bit later. It was taken by Amelia Troubidge, who kindly sent it to me. Thank goodness there are hard copies about of this photograph. It occurred to me that in the future so much will be lost or disintegrate. That digital has only a short lifespan.

Hector Abaunza has photographed me again, this time in the fun setting at the Chateau Marmont.
Well he had fun as you can see and who needs to see the dreary Gucci add once more?.. What was fun was that the boys who put up my poster took it down two days earlier than they agreed. Never believe anybody in this town, they just have annoying way of proving you right. People are not quite honest here. Not only did the poster from Drexlers look creased when up on the board, they did not stick to their agreement that it should be taken down on the 3rd March taking it down on the 2nd. They also offered the company two extra days and did not stick to that either. Gosh Los Angeles can be such hard work. People should be more honest. To have integrity is a fabulous virtue to possess. So instead of being upset I got Hector Fernando to place me on every important billboard in town. HAHAHA apparently the boys were running up and down Sunset checking where I was. You see don't try to trick me you little shits. I am here to stay until I get bored, not when you try to trick me.
To make up for it they then tried to offer my distributors London Films some bogus deals, you know the type, two weeks for one but the distributors are really not that desperate. This is much more fun. Facebook does the trick and the other social media places too.

Don't try to trick the company Mr Billboard men..
Social media is here to stay and far more important
than people realise

All was not bad news as I went to an incredible lecture with the humorous and intelligent  Wendy Stark and The Blue Ribbon ladies, on the power of social media, and its uses for the major galleries in town. Timothy Potts fromThe Getty, Michael Govan from LACMA, Phillippe Vergne from MOCA, Steven Koblik from The Huntington, and one woman head, Ann Philbin from Hammer discussed the pros and cons of the modern world through social media. The only problem seemed to me exists anyway, we are no more than our paper image showing what we wanted to be when we die. This is true of the Galleries too. Galleries need you to see things that exist , experience different thoughts. All mediums and ideas are great provided you learn.
On another note with so many powerful and interesting women in the room surely as we merge sexes there can be more women in this environment? Not just socialites, benefactors and supporters?  I was truly happy to see the art collector and enthusiast Joan Quinn who once interviewed me for my film, The gun the cake and the butterfly. 
The power of Facebook is such that I got right up the nose of one man who said today that he wished "The butterfly would die" Luckily he was not friend of mine so he was blocked. Well I am not dead yet, I am having far to much of a good time. Next week I am hoping to go to the meditation event at the Hammer which happens every week to entice us to visit, so let's hope it brings some more good vibes as I sit happily in the moon and remember beautiful things.
Then there is the other wonderful Brit Liz Hurley on the cover of Genlux. So much to look forward 
to.

RAIGN - Empire Of Our Own - @iamraign, number one on I tunes Fiji, having fun at the Chateau Marmont.