Just watched "Finding Neverland". Lovely film, with plenty of tissues required! I've been inspired to search the net to find out how accurate a portrayal it was. There are also a couple of links in it to AABA - and you'll get them as soon as you see, or hear them. Johnny Depp is nowhere near to AR in my estimation but I do have a soft spot for him and he can really do accents. I enjoyed his performance in this and I can also see why that lad Freddie won that award (was it Emmy or Empire?) Ah well, off to bed - have to be up early!

Dee, that is (and you are) lovely

Martha stonewalls are beautiful but have a habit of throwing themselves in front of cars!!

Oooh, I bet soupdupcosmogrl was beside herself about that!

AFNH - I think we missed you.  From York, we went to Scarborough, up to Whitby, down to Pickering, over to Thrisk, then through the Dales Park to Kendal, up through Bowness to Cockermouth, over to Carlisle then up to Edinburgh.  Not exactly the direct route - or the widest, but well worth the time and tension.  I really loved the Yorkshire Dales, but being New England born and raised, I have a thing for stone walls.

  Yes, Sue!  A new piccie! Thanks for posting! 

MacDonald's????  I wonder if he had a Big Mac for lunch. 

That must have been a shock! Fancy opening your local rag to find the object of your fantasy and obsession strolling across the page! Must say, he looks rather svelte there, or is teh pudge somewhat disguised!

Just met up with Laurie in Glastonbury. I took her to Wells because she had been up and down G'bry highstreet but not been out of the town. She goes back home tomorrow but packed an awful lot in, especially to her few days in London. We want to see more of you over here! And we want to go over there! When do you think that "apparating" will be available to Muggles?

Kathy, my son's favourite "reading to" book was one about a JCB digger! And Fireman Sam!

Just found this posted on lj by "soupdupcosmogrl" (such catchy names we have From her local paper apparently and she had no idea he was there!!

Elaine,the "hippo-bird-dog" brought back fond memories.  That's by Sandra Boynton who writes children's books.  You know the thick cardboard books that you read to toddlers?  They are very funny, I think the kids miss the real humor, but I used to read them to my boys and they loved them.  We spent many hours in the "rock-rock" chair reading her books.

Elaine, DeForest Kelley came from Atlanta back before the place became large or international.  And yup, that's his accent all right!  "D****t, Jim, I'm a Georgian, not a-" Oh, never mind.

So now Mr. Rickman is in Toronto?  I love that city!

Sabine- Simultaneous blonde moment thousands of miles apart! I just love the thought that a vision of ARs lovely ass drifted before so many eyes for a few seconds before realisation dawned.! Oh well, back to dreaming.

I'm relieved. I missed that post and I went back to check and mine was the only one I thought that you might take offence at. But never mind, we got to share a "military" moment *sigh* (I have to say, military men like him are no longer around. I know, I've searched! )

Lucy. love the Southern drawl - I can hear it as you write. Something about that. Must be the crush I had on Dr McCoy in Star Trek MANY moons ago. (And Deforest Kelley died some time ago too. Am I that old?)

Nice report from Wawa but I don't think I could take my kids out of school to travel 10 hours just to try and catch a glimpse of the man. He's got that kind of "pull" though. I agree with Claudia, Dee. Save your trip for the premiere. At least you know you will see him then.

'Course, down here in th' 'merican South we wouldn't need no bird on th' "Hippo Bird Dawg" card, jus' th' hippo an' a huntin' dawg, 'cuz huntin' dawgs 'r called "bird dawgs."  Ain't tha' righ', Claudia?

At any rate,

Happy Birthday, Meim!

No No No Elaine!  The unfriendly post was removed. 

I'm afraid one would be very hard pressed to find an unfriendly iota about you, my dear!   

Elaine! It was nothing to do with you!!

I've seen that hippo bird dog card lots of time and got the joke

Comments were aimed at a more "ambiguous" greeting that Claudia removed and you may not have seen.

Mind you I am always happy to take the Colonel under my wing at any time as you well know form other places!!!

Elaine: I thought your "hippo-bird-dog" wish was quite funny. 

Thanks for the fan report, martha!

Claudia: when I read "The Ass. Director", I didn't get past "The Ass.", so at first I thought the person who wrote the report was talking about AR's behind... 

Sue, I'm just a little worried that people think I was being horrible when I wished you "hippo-bird-dog" for your birthday. I'm afraid it's my twisted sense of humour. It comes from a birthday card I once saw in a shop (you know, you stand there browsing and laughing like an idiot at some of them!) There was a picture of a hippo, then a bird, then a - you guessed it - dog. Meant to represent "Happy Birthday". Well it probably looked funnier on the card! So sorry if I caused you, or anyone else here, any grief! Have a Colonel as a belated pressie:

to Miem.

Hope you have a good one

 Miem, I hope you have a brilliant day!

I wonder if they had an A-one of those directors in DH? *snerk*  (sorry, no emoticon for snickering)

I know that it is still early evening on the west coast but it is after midnight here which means we have another birthday in the house.  I know a lot of people have already wished Miem a very happy birthday so here's mine.....

I hope you have a wonderful day, Miem! 

Thanks to all for your reviews of Hitchhiker's..... I can't wait to see it.  I can't wait to see that opening sequence, Bill Nighy, and of course, The Voice! 

Thanks for the AR sighting, martha.  Quite an amazing story.  I do have a little bit of a hard time with taking the kids out of school and driving 10 hours but to each their own, I suppose. 

I had a good laugh at myself for my reaction when I read "Ass. Director".  I was quite appalled at first but then I thought surely I didn't read that right and sure enough, I didn't. 

Dee, I know you are feeling badly for not going to Wawa, but honestly, IMO, you did the right thing in putting it off.  I'm still hoping you will get to go to the premiere (which I feel will be in Toronto).  That's when you will have a good time. 

Saw H2G2 today!  My wonderful hubby took me to the first showing at 5 PM, right after he came home from an 8-hour drive from Flordia.  What a guy! 

S  P  O  I  L  E  R  S

Ali-Pat: I totally agree with you about Bill Nighy!  I absolutely loved his outfit!  It looked so... Jedi-ish. 

Yes, Claudia will love the opening sequence, and she probably won't be able to get that darn song out of her head after the movie.  My husband and I were humming it for hours. 

I think that if you love the books, you'll enjoy the movie.  But if you haven't read any of the books, you might have some problems with Douglas Adams' type of humor.  Unfortunately, my husband thought it was the most boring movie he'd seen in years.  He did get a kick out of Marvin though. 

Julie - tell your daughter I think David Thewlis is pretty darn cute too! 

Sharen and Elaine -- yes, yes!  Suet - that was it..sorry for the incorrect spelling.  O.K...so, basically it's fat, used to make a crust, is that correct?  I hear tales of many cooks who used to bake pie crusts with lard....same concept, I suppose.    Not on the list for a low cholesterol diet, I'd wager.

Then vegetarian suet would be something like shortening - made with vegetable oil?  So, the suet mix I saw advertised must have been like a pre-mixed flour/dehydrated suet to make the crust.  Maybe something like a biscuit mix that we have here.  The jell-o mold shape was probably more of a bowl shape (funny how the memory can change things around).  

That was a great story from the Mom and kids at the Chinese restaurant in Wawa. 

Sue and Miem: Happy Birthday! (a little late.)  Sue, ignore that negative post.  We all think you're the best.

My favorite actor is AR...of course! Why else am I here, right?  My daughter's favorite is David Thewlis.  Anyone have any thoughts on him?  She was curious to hear your opinions.  Thanks. 

My daughter and I are going to see Hitchhiker's Guide...tomorrow.  We were both home with stomach aches today.  So I hope we get better!  The clips I've seen were hilarious. 

This was posted a week ago at TPPM but nobody seems to have put it here.  So... here it is:

"Thought you guys might be interested in this AR sighting that was posted on
another list I belong to:

Flora of Lallybroch’s AR Sighting

My kids wouldn't let me go and find "Professor Snape" without them so I
recruited my friend to be copilot, took the kids out of school for a few days
and headed to Wawa. The trip took about 10 hours (we went through Michigan).
Wawa is a town of about 3500 on the TransCanada Hwy in NW Ontario - home of the
giant Goose if anyone's travelled that way. We arrived in town about 7pm and
drove about looking for a motel. We knew the cast and crew had taken over the
"nice" motel but there was no "no vacancy" up so my friend volunteered to fake
like she'd never heard of "Snowcake the Movie" and go in to try and get us a
room and thus glean some info from the clerk. As we just pull into the parking
lot I spot AR about 100 yards away just casually walking by himself towards the
motel office. My friend scoots after him but unfortunately he is through the
lobby by the time she gets there. We get a room in another motel, go out for a
meal, and discover they are going to be filming on the main
street the next day. Next morning we get up and walk up and down the main
street checking things out. It was really neat seeing them getting the film set
all ready, gathering the fake snow (since it's supposed to be winter in the
movie and Wawa was pretty warm) etc. We pick ourselves a close-by bench and
settle in to watch. By lunchtime the kids are getting a little restless and we
all have to pee so we notice a chinese restaurant that is right next door the
fake storefront that they are going to be filming at so we decide to go there
and have some lunch. There are only two other people in the restaurant. We sit
right in the front window and open the blinds. *g* The other people ask who this
AR is...would we be able to point him out..."No Problem" I say! Sure enough,
shortly he is driven up in a van and gets out right across the street. We're
going nuts. Then he walks across the street and stands right on the other side
of the window. The Ass. Dir. comes into the restaurant and says
long-sufferingly "You're welcome to stay here but you're ruining our shot. You
have to sit and look like you're eating food not staring out the window." So
just like that - we're in the movie!! We had the terrible hardship of sitting
for an hour or two being served lunch and beer with complete access to a
bathroom while Alan Rickman walked repeatedly within a foot of us - doing the
scene over and over again. At one point he took a wee rest and stretched his
hamstrings on the bench just beside our window. The kids waved at him and he
smiled this absolutely dazzling smile and waved back. He was absolutely gorgeous
in real life....much more handsome than he appears on film. And it appears I was
right about him being the sexiest thing on two legs. *BG* I was drooling all
over the booth and that smile just about killed me! Unfortunately, we didn't get
to talk to him or get an autograph as he was being whisked in and out just long
enough to do his scenes. Sigourney Weaver, who is the
other star, was hanging out on the street and talking to everyone. We were
smiling and interacting with her but a little too focused on AR to realize we're
hanging out with this Oscar nominee. We forgot she'd been in Ghostbusters (my
brain had pretty much imploded after the hamstring stretches) otherwise we could
have had a great time peppering the air with quotes. *VBG* After that we headed
for home. After all "We came, we saw, we kicked some ASS!" hehehe - couldn't
help myself after all. *g* Anyway, that was our big adventure. Sorry it's so
long but I'm still babbling days later."

Love the pic--looks like he is pained, tho!!

I got the google alert also about the Rachel Corrie venue change in Oct.  What is the difference between Jerwood upstairs and downstairs?  the size maybe?

I'll never forget the time I was just out of school (the first time ) and I was making mince pies from scratch for Christmas dinner because my dad and grandfather loved them.  In my naivete I had no idea what suet was!  The butcher gave me a crash course! The pies were great--with brandied hard sauce--even I had a piece and I am not a fan of mince pie. 

Wonder if I dare think about a quick trip to London in October? (It's getting to be my home away from home).

Seat filler--I had no idea they had to recruit people to fill seats--where do you get that job???  Glad to know AR is getting out and enjoying Toronto, I've heard it is a beautiful city.  Elaine, I'm with you, I too hope Rima can get over and enjoy some things with him.  Must get lonesome sometimes even if you are working to live out of a hotel and be away from home for that long a period of time. 

Can't wait for Hichhickers  Sunday will probably be the day........

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! 

Do you think you'll be able to recover the Rachel Corrie's Play Text in England School?

Many thanks.

Ida

Vicki and Sharon, sounds very much like Suet. You can get beef suet or vegetarian suet (which is what we use). Makes divine steak and kidney puddings (known throughout the Army as "baby's heads") and steamed puddings, my favourite being "spotted dick".(With lots of custard!) I can't think of an alternative that you might have in the US. And I don't really know what American voices mean in ads. We have quite a few US voiced ads as well. I suppose they are often the "film-trailer" type - deep voice that sounds like a 40 a day man. Lends a bit of "hollywood" to it I suppose.

I love the look on AR's face in that pic. Seat filler? Can I have that job please?

And all you Canadians, get out there and see what you can see!   Hope Rima is there to share the experience with him.

And something I've been wondering about, will AR have his postal vote in? Or is he going to be one of the rumoured many Labour supporters who are not going to vote because of their opposition to the War in Iraq? Curious....

Sue, how dare you have a previously unannounced birthday! Hope it was a good one.

Metro's H2G2 review gives a brief mention "Marvin the Paranoid Android - far too cutesy, but at least voiced by Alan Rickman."

I have seen Hitchhiker!  I don't want to spoil anything for anybody, but I have these four things to say:

1.  Claudia will be thrilled with the opening sequence.

2.  All you knitters out there will be getting some requests.

3.  Bill Nighy got all my favorite scenes (and some of the best clothes).

4.  Marvin gets the last word.

Can't wait till others see it so we can discuss!

Hmmm, looks like My Name is Rachel Corrie is going to transfer to the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs in October. 

My Name is Rachel Corrie Autumn Transfer

Sharen, I noticed the American accent in the Marmite ad and thought it a bit strange. 

Emily has been terribly busy lately so she sent me these two little tid bits to post:

Vicki, could it have been suet?

http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/1973_November_December/Suet_Puddings__Subsistence_Food

Is it curious that the narrator of the 2nd Marmite commercial had an American accent? Or is that typical in UK ads? 

In US ads, British voices usually indicate (to me, anyway) that this info is for our edification and it behooves us to pay attention. (I know I always pay close attention whenever our favorite Brit speaks. ) But what does an American voice connote to a British listener?

Dee - you're so talented!  Eagerly awaiting to see where you will put AR in your next project!

A belated Happy Birthday to Sue (I think with the time difference, your birthday was yesterday in the UK?) and an early Happy Birthday to Miem.  May all your AR dreams come true!

Thanks for the marmite/vegemite lesson.  Many, many years ago, I took a trip to England and saw an ad on the telly for Suit Mix?!?!  Could someone please explain what that is?  I hope I spelled it right.  The ad showed a mum bringing a platter of something to the table that looked like it had been made in a jello-mold or a bundt cake pan.  The family, of course, were licking their lips in anticipation and couldn't wait to dig in.  To this day, I still scratch my head in wonder at what this could possibly be. 

martha - thanks for the travel-logue.  It's always nice to hear about someone's adventures.  Glad you had a good time!

Watched Galaxy Quest on t.v. last night.  I'd forgotten what a hoot it was!

OK you guys!  I have been very slack in letting you all know how much I have enjoyed the icons and other art work lately.  

I do want yall to know that I have loved seeing them and I've been collecting them as usual! 

The Marmite and  the Walk the Dog ones are adorable!  BTW, have you any birthday wallpaper for us, Sue???

Lucy, thanks for putting me onto Animation Shop. I've downloaded the trial version but I see it is not expensive anyway. Lots to play with! I'm never going to get fit locked into this computer all day!

Severina, Violet - I am also under the impression that they are very much living together again but RH does still have a property in the neighbouring borough. This is probably bcause she is still involved with the Council for that ward and needs the property to give her some creedence for doing that. I think it is rented -(imagine her being your landlord!) - and she probably has no need to sell it anyway.

Happy birthday, mien. Enjoy H2G2!

Martha, how long did you stay in Oxford?

Lucy, thanks for the info. I've been using Image Ready and it is a bit fiddley.

Happy Birthday, Miem! 

And welcome back, martha! 

Gee, thanks for the warm welcome back! 

Sue - Happy Birthday!

Dee - They also used Christ Church, Oxford for some of the filming, which is where we were.  Up in Scotland, we were at Glenfinnan (aqueduct and loch - just missed seeing the steam train!) and Glencoe. 

Hope your day is going great, Sue!  BTW, non-understandable, off the wall comment has been taken care of. 

kathy and Dee, which little boy in the nativity picture is AR has been a mystery to everyone.  I've always thought it was the little boy to "Mary's" right.  At the risk of pestering poor Melanie Parker again...maybe the person that wrote and asked her about the picture of AR standing at the microphone might try again.     

Violet and SeverinaSnape. You can take this anyway you wish but I have been told by a very reliable source that AR and RH are indeed living together once again. 

My source is not his assistant.  I don't feel Ms Parker would disclose any of AR's private details to anyone--no matter how close they profess to be to her.  But I do agree that any assistant that would give out such details should be sacked. 

I, like the two of you, do not know and will not ever know for sure unless AR or RH publicly announce the fact--which will probably never happen.  But I do trust my source as you do yours so feel free to disagree with me on this subject all you want but this will be all I will say on the subject. 

Sue and Miem: Happy Birthday!!

Sue: Ignore that one unhappy post.  I, for one, love your posts. You are my lifeline to UK news. I love the international community I've met through Alan Rickman.  Thank you all for sharing your various cultures with me.

Just to remind u, the skyscraper for AR is still on. If someone hasn't added a brick yet, now is the chance! Just click on "add

http://www.topdogcity.com/alanrickman1.htm

Just logged on and was greeted  by all your lovely wishes(At least I think they were all lovely!!)

Happy Birthday to Miem for Saturday too And Welcome back Martha too, glad you had a great trip.

Sue! Have a lovely day!

And welcome back, martha!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUE & MIEM

Welcome back Martha, nice to know that you´ve had such a wonderful time in the UK!

HAPPY bIRTHDAY mIEN!!!

HOPE ITS TERRIFIC

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUE & MIEM!!!!

Hi Violet and Dee!

Violet, I have been told pretty much the same thing as yourself from someone who knows them both who was helping me with a project I am trying to get up and running. He definately knows them - and proved to me that he does several times without me even asking - I am such a cynic. Of course you cant know everything about people's private lives - but his take is the same - as far as he is still aware they do live separately. RH still supposedly has a place in a certain Ward in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and AR of course lives very near Paddington Station. I'm still bad with kilometres and such - but they are about a mile + in distance apart I think...

I've had a couple of people insist to me that his assistant apparently has let them know that RH and AR moved back in together when they have written to her -

Right...I'd say he'd be in need of a new assistant if that is true!

Such private details I usually dont get into - but as you have pretty much the same information that I have been given I just thought I would let you know. I quite like the idea of separate residences; you can go off and do your own thing as necessary and just meet up when you feel the need. For me loving someone from a distance is definately different and probably preferable to having them under the same roof (that's my theory going through my divorce and I am sticking with it...)

Dee: Some of the location shots for Hogwarts are in Gloucester Cathedral  - particularly the cloisters - althought interior and exterior shots have been done all over the country

http://www.historic-uk.com/DestinationsUK/HarryPotter.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/focus/2003/08/potter_picture.shtml

http://www.britishtours.com/harry_potterovernight.html

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUE

Hope you have a great day!!!!

Claudia, thanks for the pic again. I like the picture, it's sweet.  Someone said somewhere AR is the boy on the right next to the manger. You can't see his face so I don't know. Claudia do you know?

Just got to watch GQ on TV tonight with info about H2G2 during the breaks. 

Night all...........

Hi,  Dee!  I always enjoy your postings.  You are such fun.  BTW, re: your question about Rima and Alan living in separate residences, I have a gentleman friend in London who told me that, as far as he knows, they still live in separate residences, about two or so kilometers apart.  I don't talk with this gentleman very often (he's in his 60's and retired), so I don't know his source, other than he lives in that area.  Sigh...yes, some people don't only live on the same planet as AR, but in the same part of town...sigh again.  Violet.

Happy Birthday, Sue!

 Sue and I have a birthday very near eachother! Mine is Saturday! Yay!

Guess what I'm doing for it?? Guess, guess!

Going to see H2G2! **does a chair dance**.....TWICE!! tomorrow and on Saturday.

My dad was like, so you're going to see it with your friends and me...?

Me:" I can't complain about listening to Alan Rickman for 4 hours! Of course I'm going twice!"

...I'm such a nerd..

OKay, off to study group!

~Miem

Lucy -- Love the icon! I've never tried Marmite (the name sounds a little like an annoying little vermin we have here in Indiana), but must agree that Snape is definitely an acquired taste. But I'd willing to nibble at him until I get used to it! ( Who said that?! Someone jumped into my post and added that naughty remark! )

Claudia -- What an adorable nativity photo! Which one is AR? Is it the little boy standing on the left?

Martha -- I hate to sound dumb (but it's so easy to do...), but what do you mean, you toured Hogwarts? Are you saying that the school in Harry Potter is an actual place?

Happy Birthday, Sue!  Hope you'll have a great day! 

I use Animation Shop.  It's really simple to make an animation with it, especially with the Animation Wizard.  Everyone has been talking about how hard it is to make an icon.  What program do you use?

Feel free to gack the icon if you want.  Anything I post here is free for gacking, of course.

Sue, Hippo-Bird-Dog to you! Hope you have many of them!

What a weird thing for the Marmite site to do, Claudia. What does it matter where you are! Very strange. But it is a hoot, isn't it! Never been there before. Lucy, love the icon. I've just managed to make my first ani-gif for the LJ but it took ages. There must be a better way and a better prog to do it on. What do you use?

Martha,  I was wondering when you would be back. Glad you had a great time and didn't get fazed by roundabouts! And doubly glad you got to Edinburgh. Great place, isn't it? Next time you must come "down West" and see us.

OK Lucia...you have the advantage of time...its only a quarter til 10 here!  LOL

Anyways........ Sue!!!!!!!!

Have a super duper AR kind of day, Birthday Girl! 

And like Lucia said.....

Here ya go, kathy!

 Way to go on the trip, martha! I'm glad you're back home safely.  Sounds like you and bunks got a lot in--in a very short period of time.  Thanks for sharing. 

Elaine, the Marmite commericals are cute.  I do wonder one thing though.  When I first clicked on the ad, it asked if I was in the UK.  Of course I clicked "Yes" out of sheer wishing I were!  LOL  But....I wondered what would happen if I clicked "No" so I tried it. Here's what I got: 

"Sorry, to view this ad you need to be resident in the UK."

Hmmm, makes me wonder why.....

I have to admit that I don't think I did try my Marmite packets as per SuzyQ's instructions.  She told me to spread it very thin and on hot butter toast.  I know I must have done something wrong. Oh well...

Happy Birthday Sue !!!

 OK?

Dee: beautiful job with the painting!  I love it! 

I called our movie theater today, and luckily they will show H2G2 starting tomorrow.  They just hadn't updated their website yet.  Phew!  Thanks for the invite to come down to Columbus though, Claudia! 

Elaine, that marmite site is quite funny--I guess I'll have to try a smidgin.  If only to say I did!

I listened to the NPR interview all the way through it is very good and they do mention AR ---and with a sound clip.

Enough from me --my kids are standing at the door waiting for dinner! (Their contract calls for 3 meals a day )

(BTW Po-Dunk is a slang equivilant to the more polite British expression "back of beyond") I think the British could cuss you out and still sound polite!

Home at last! And what a wonderful trip it was. Five days in London, then a week touring the countryside.

Took me almost as long to catch up with the reading here!

It was too bad that AR wasn’t at the after play talk, (I don’t think the topic would have digressed to other subjects – after all, people stayed on topic at the NFT, so I’m sure they would have here. ) but it was certainly not a “wasted” trip. The play was stunning. Megan Dodds did an awesome job, portraying Rachel’s shifting feelings from idealism, to outrage, to doubt, to fear and back with flawless skill. The time flew by. I even managed to forget that I was on the top floor of an ancient building in a packed room whose only exit was down a narrow flight of wooden stairs, the door to which was half blocked by a shoved aside stage prop. But I digress. There isn’t much to add to the reviews that have already been posted. I agree with Bunks that Rachel was driven by the injustice of the situation and would have been there had the nationalities/political parties been reversed. The feeling I got was that she, and the play, were anti-injustice, not anti- any particular group. I would love to have heard AR’s answer to how the material was picked for the play.

It was wonderful meeting up with Sue again, and raising a glass with her, Elaine, Juliet, and Nicole. (And Juliet brought ALL her Bowness pics to share!)

Kate and I went to see Henry IV with Michael Gambon and David Bradley. It was my first experience seeing Shakespeare done “right” by people who really know how, and is something I’ll not soon forget. DB was King Henry and MG was Falstaff. I don’t think it was my imagination that the first time MG called, “Harry!” that there were a few quiet snorts in the crowd.

After Kate had to leave, Bunks and I picked up a car and headed north. With her flawless navigational skills, we managed to cover a lot of territory. Not nearly enough time to explore, but I got enough of a look to know I’d like to come back.

Elaine – I LOVE round-abouts! If you’re not sure where to go, you just keep going ‘round until you figure it out. And if you do go the wrong way, why before you know it, there’s another one and you can reverse direction.

I did hear a lot of, “Mind the curb” the first few days as the hardest part was getting used to the bulk of the car being on my left. The best(?) time was in the Cotswolds when it was, “Mind the house!”

We saw Stonehenge, York, Edinburg, the Yorkshire Dales, the Cotswolds, standing stones, soaring eagles, ruined abbeys and much more. We walked the halls of Hogwarts and took pictures of the lake. (No giant squid, thank goodness.)

Everywhere we went, the people were wonderful. I hope someday to go back.

Claudia, Would you do me a favor?(or favour for John Cleese)  Would you re-post the picture of AR as a kid in a Nativity play?

Thanks 

Ooh, just found the ads on the Marmite site!

http://www.marmite.com/love/tv/

"po-dunk". Did we not hear Blalock say that?

For those of you who would like to try something a little less salty than Marmite, then "Vegemite" is my favourite.

http://www.vegemite.com.au/index.cfm?fuseaction=ourHeritage.welcome

It's Australian and milder in taste than Marmite. I must admit, Marmite (yes, just a smidgen) on hot buttered toast is devine! And there are some brilliant TV ads for Marmite at the moment. I'll have to keep an eye out and catch one.

Here is the link to the H2G2 NPR interview with the producers of the film.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4622372

Dee ---the picture is Fabulous didn't know that artist, its great. well done, you.

Sue, ---thanks for the explaination (and pic) of marmite.  Hmmmmmm, doesn't sound too inviting, very healthy tho  with lots of B vitamins in it.  Heck, they make beer out of yeast maybe I WOULD like it!

H2G2 Actually is coming to this po-dunk town tomorrow--I am shocked and amazed.  Will be first on my list Saturday or Sunday--whichever day I need a break from studying for finals.

In fact this afternoon they had an interview with the director on NPR ---I'll have to look it up and give you the particulars as I was only able to catch a short part of it.

emily--so sorry about the emoticon explosion, they are too much fun  to leave alone.  I

...We have to wait till august 2005 for HHG2tG.........

Whoo-hoo!  HHG2tG is playing at my favorite cinema!  I can't wait! I can't wait!

Sue, your sympathy for Emily on the emoticons (sorry Em) reminded me of something she posted last Sunday that I've been meaning to comment on. 

Aslan's voice.  Why in the world aren't they considering AR? 

BTW, I thought the idea of Cox's voice changing due to weight loss was a bit over the top.  LOL  

Ohhh that's to cool, Dee.  That one would be easy to put one's own face on the partner.     

AFNH -- "I'd love to see the Man's face transposed onto the figure of Oskar Kokoschka in one of his paintings - Bride of the Wind and The Tempest."

Kathy, Marmite is yeast extract. It is rather salty but I love it!It is also good to stir into stews and casseroles etc.

Sadly I don't think I shall be able to go to the Art interview. I'm already going to S.tPauls and I think my AR quota maybe used up for the month of June!

sue, what exactly is Marmite?  It's got a love it or leave it reputation, but what is it made out of? (Apparently AR buys it) The best thing I ever tasted in England is Sticky Toffee Pudding, and believe me while I'm there this summer I am going to search it out!  The best one I've tasted was at a little hole in the wall, wine bar comme restaurant on Lots Rd. in Chelsea. (can't think of the name of it right now). Yum, yum! (Bet AR likes that, too)

sue, are you joining us at the Art interview on the 21st?

My Mate Marmite! You either Love it or Loathe it as the ad used to say.

I LOVE it!! Whenever I have been ill Marmite on toast is the first thing I have when my appetite returns. I think a lot of you in the States make the mistake of plastering it on then don't like it. Just the merest smear will suffice (and that way the jar lasts forever)

I'd like to visit King Bills place too !

I have just returned from town and a trip to Waterstones (for some reason there are TWO branches in the same town quite close to each other!)In the window they had a HHG2G spread with some rather nice bookmarks laid out including a Marvin one. As I was purchasing a book I noticed a poster saying "Free Bookmark when you buy HHG2G" "Oh" I said to the guy "Shame I wanted a Marvin, oh well never mind"

As I handed over the cash he surreptiously opened the drawer under the till and very sneakily snuck one into my bag!!LOL

"Shh" he said "we probably won't sell many books and will have to end up giving them away anyway!"

Ooh lots of new snilies to play with!! Poor Emily

Sabine, come on down south........Hollywood Connection is giving it 1 screen.  With only one screen, I'm thinking I might wait a bit to go see it--I'm a bit on the claustrophobic side, unfortunately.  I can't believe its only getting one screen.  My area can be sooooo stoopid when it comes to knowing a hit when they see it.  Love Actually was the same story.  They only screened Sideways for a very short time prior to it winning award after award...then they bring it back for another short run.  

It seems like our local movie theater wont' be showing H2G2 anytime soon.  At least it's not on their website.      I guess I'll keep searchinig for the closest theatre that'll show it... 

Robyn reported in ARExp Yahoo Group that, when you see HHG2tG--do not leave before or during the credit roll. 

King Bill with lots of Marmite and the Stones living in his basement and their only gig would be to entertain King Bill and his friends on Friday night! How cool would that be?  

Pretty cute interview.  He reaffirms why I like him so much every time I see him.  Thanks Sue! 

BTW, what is it about Marmite???  SuzyQ sent me some little packets years ago and it is the most awful tasting stuff I have put in my mouth (or even up to my nose) in years!  Its the "vitaminy" taste I can't stomach. 

Elaine, I am outraged at your eBay discovery.  I've mailed each organization AND complained to eBay as well.  How dare the seller and how dare eBay to allow something like this to continue. 

Nice little interview with Bill Nighy on BBC

HHG2G review  HERE 

"Alan Rickman is the voice of Marvin, a very depressed robot. Rickman gets more hilarious mileage out of his voice than most actors get with everything."

London Evening Standard Editorial

Wednesday 27th April 2005

THEATRELAND BUZZES

"The acclaim that greeted the premiere of Elmina's Kitchen last night was exhilarating. It is just the latest success in a long run of remarkable West End productions, such as Don Carlos at the Gielgud, which closes on Saturday, Julius Caesar at the Barbican which is sold out, My Name is Rachel Corrie at the Royal Court - a dramatised version of emails from a courageous young woman who died trying to defend Palestinian homes from Israeli bulldozers - and a plethora of other impressive plays. By comparison Broadway, witch is hosting a series of unremarkable musicals seems lacklustre. Whatever challenges the West End faces from the congestion charge and the rest, this is a wonderful time for London's theatregoers."

Afraid I have to disagree with you there Dee!! Shoe shopping has always been for me something I would avoid at all costs. As a teen in the 60/70s I had an awful time trying to get shoes. All I wanted was the chunky trendy look but having a then size 8 AAA fitting if I was offered anything at all it was some awful black pointy court shoe that I wouldn't have been seen dead in even if my mother could have afforded it. I recall trailing round London looking for obscure shops that sold *big* shoes.

In old age my weight seems to have widened my feet a little and  manufacturers have gradually realised that some people have feet bigger than 7! I have actually been able to buy *cheap* shoes from M&S now but no shoe shopping is not a pleasaant memory

I just can't believe what you can get on ebay! I've just found a "trader" selling charity wristbands. He/she is selling them in job lots of 10 and "generously" says he will donate £1 per pack!! He has Breast Cancer ones, anti rascist ones and Beat Bullying ones so far. I've emailed the charities concerned hoping that something can be done! Sickens me. At least he doesn't seem to have got hold of the MPH ones yet!

Dee, although they have been together for over 30 years, there was a time that they did live in separate residences. But they have, in the last couple of years, moved back in together. 

It's amazing how shopping for shoes can lift your spirits! Armies around the world should take a break and head for "Shoe Carnival". Wars would cease on a global scale! (We all know I'm just being light-heartedly, right? No offense, right?) I'm home with a sassy pair of black heels -- tired, but happy!

Ali-Pat -- Oh!! Her mom's voice was the recording! I never caught that at all! You are so smart! It took me a few viewings to catch onto TMD, so I won't give up on AABA. Thanks for sharing!

BTW -- I've been lurking at another site (Yes, I've strayed... but I swear it didn't mean a thing!). They said that AR and Rima are a couple but haven't lived together in over a decade. It was a lengthy thread with several posters agreeing it was true. Huh? I've never heard that before and can't believe it. Does anyone here know anything about it?

There is a new article about Alan, go to this link :http://www.saultstar.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=106811&catname=Local+News&classif=News+%2D+Local 

The pic is awesome too

Yes, Kathy, the "new" Chelsea college is the "old"  Army Medical Services college which the government sold off because it was worth a lot more to them in real estate. We now have to go to a faceless college in Birmingham for our courses and seminars! It used to be a lovely building inside and the Officer's Mess Bar had some fantastic views over the Thames. I hope they have not mucked it about too much. (Not that I spent much time in the bar.... 

And who said we have to behave ourselves?

I'm really looking forward to it!

I promise this is the last post-----

just wanted to say that when I talked to the gentleman on the phone today to order my interview tickets (I hate to see my phone bill) he said the interviews would be at the "new" Chelsea on Millbank next to the Tate.

P.S. I promised Elaine I would behave myself, too!

Hello everyone----

Back home for just a short spell and then back to school for a review in my Women in Art Class  Next to the last day of school.  It has gone by so fast.  Finals will not be too bad the papers were the worst.

I DID get a ticket for the AR interview and was able to rearrange my B & B

booking to earlier, so I am all set for MY big adventure.  I also booked a ticket for the 2nd interview with a sculptor who went to Chelsea also.  What better combination than AR and art.  I will definitely report back!  I am also looking forward to some fun with the wild women on this GB!!

AABA is one of my favorites and as I have found with a number of his films it gets better and more meaningful with further watchings--DH is another one like that.  I liked AR's playfulness in AABA  I've had a hard time getting into MC but maybe it's because I've been preoccupied with school and not able to give it my full attention.

Alfan, that is a hoot isn't it? I love the way "Alexander" ennunciates, he is so like a certain *type* of aging Brit actors.

I've only watched it once, must see it again.

It will be an interesting interview and I'm sure we will be there to listen and not make it a "fan" event. I am really keen to find out what AR has to say about Art (for that, I presume, is what the theme will be about!) as it's a part of his life we really know very little about as none (or hardly any) of his work ever surfaces. I'm wondering if the Cochrane Theatre is the old Lecture Theatre from the AMS college. If so, it's a purpose built lecture theatre with tiers of seats rising above the small podium. (Bitter sweet memories of one weekend spent there - listening to a lecture by the brilliant Richard Homes and then being told by our CO that we were to be amalgamated with another unit - the product of that year's Defence Review!) The guy in the box office implied that it was the old college, so I think it will be quite "intimate".  Yum!

I wish I had got the 20gig Ipod now but maybe next year.... It will be a definite buy if I get mobilised again.  And the Ipod Photo would be even better! But the mini is pretty cool (mine's green.)

I change my opinion of AABA quite frequently. It's a bit of an odd film in a way, but likeable. As much as I don't like Hugh Grant, I think he turned in one of his better performances, too, merely because it was out of character for him. And AR is just top notch as usual. I've just read a review which describes him as an "ageing Lothario". Not really what I would have called him....

Congratulations kathy & RickiNicki!!!

...I'm preparing for "JUDAS KISS"  this evening on Dutch television...

AABA--> never seen it before & it still not released here in "Dutchy-Land"...(Moeoehooee)......

Hiya Ladies!

How do you do?

I have arrived home after university and I'm deaaaaaad... Gosh, getting up at 5:30 am and and get back around 21 hrs is killing me!! I don't have energy even to read your posts... I've read that something is going to happen in autum and seeing your reaction has to be good. Of course I don't think that I could be in London by this time (damn university...) so... good luck to everyone is going to go to whatever happens then. My envy and me would be here waiting for your reports .

Lots of love from the warm Spain!! (the summer is already here, yay!!)

I'm sure it's meant as a joke Susan.

And as for AR don't forget this is the man who told Kate Winslet  "Curtsey and I'll kill you!"!!

Wow 23 pages of posts in this guestbook!  Go you all!

Poor AR...with all these crazed fans on their way, he's not going to know what hit him! I'm green with envy! Please get pictures...from the front (those beautiful tea green eyes), from the side (that gorgeous nose), and from the back (his kissable little tush)

Susan -- I've read that "slap" expression too. I always took it to mean slap some sense into someone -- like when they are being stupid or hysterical. Frankly, I don't think it would help to slap Stella. If she didn't recognise the perfect man when he was literally between her thighs, she was never going to!

Whew! I'm getting myself a bit worked up for so early in the morning! Oh well, I'm off shoe shopping! Looking for a cute pair of black heels! Have fun everyone

Congrats to everyone who got tickets!  Sounds like another great event in AR fandom and I am looking forward to photos and reports.  Vicarious enjoyment, it's the life for me!

BELOW BE AABA SPOILERS

Dee, I am glad you prompted discussion on AABA.  It has always been my favorite AR performance, and the film is full of subtleties that only multiple watchings bring out.  It is true that the characters keep being drawn to the harbor--first "Stella Maris", then PL, and finally Stella (all her phone calls are made near the train tracks, except for that last one).  BTW, it took me a while to figure this out, but Stella really is calling her mother.  It comes out at the end of the film that her mom won the "talking clock" competition--when Stella makes phone calls, it is to the talking clock and the voice you hear is her mother's voice.

I could go on for days on this film.  It is so complex!  Weird, but complex.  I mean, the Peter Pan symbolism alone could fill a book!

  Brilliant news, Ricki Nicki!!!!  I really think this will be a nice and informative event.  I can't wait to hear all the reports. 

RedTango, the Fashion Police segment is a hoot!  LOL  And since we were just talking about iPods yesterday, I had to re-visit iSnape!  Thanks for the update. 

Congratulations Kathy!!

I've also bought a ticket!!

RedTango, hilarious, as usual.

Kathy, way to go!!! I´m so happy for you. Wish I could go, sounds like a huge GBmeetup. Well done!

Congratulations Kathy!!!

I'm so thrill that you could change your travel date!...

by the way... I didn't know that your Birthday it's 21st June... mine it's 22nd June!!

Hugs to everybody

Since we are on the subject of iPods (among other things), I got a pink iPod mini (6GB) for Christmas. It has my name Kimberly inscribed on that back, though I like your inscription better, Elaine!

I have a couple of AR radio plays on it, etc. I mainly use it when walking. I now covet the iPod photo. Then I could take all my AR photos with me wherever I go!  

The Andrew Marr interview is shaping up well for the AR fans who can't attend!   Good on you, Kathy, for making the change! Look forward to reports, photos, etc.

Natasxxx: Glad I could be of help.

Go Kathy!!!!! I am over the moon!! See, good things happen to those who wait - (and wheedle things a bit) Off to check my mail!

Oops, I forgot.  For kathy, the mugs in my emoticons are filled with root beer!  *grin*

Kathy!!!!!!  I am sooooooooo happy for you!!!! The group is shaping up to look like a lot of fun!  This is going to be cool! 

Remember ladies....pictures pictures pictures, pulllleezzzeee!! 

Alfan, I'm right there with you!  I seem to hear Marston say those words quite a bit lately.  Well, our time will come........eventually. 

Elaine, my order is for the 20GB.  I don't know if I'll get that but I think I might, if I'm a good girl.

AFNH, your a wealth of information! Thank you for the schedules!  I don't believe I've ever looked at Radio 7 but if Nighy is gonna be there...I'll have to check it out!  Thanks.

Susan, CA.  I believe in the online AR realm, the the expression "I want to slap...." is just that.  An expression.  I know I have said that relating to other things but don't literally mean it....well, not all the time.   

Just got his google, nice article on SnowCake--hope it isn't a duplicate.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050426/MOSS26/TPEntertainment/Film

I did it!!!! I was able to change my reservation to the 19th of June and will arrive the 20th, now all I have to do is make sure the B&B can take me earlier. And see if I can still get a ticket for the AR interview

NOW   I am excited!!!!!

Elaine, look for a private email from me!!!

I DID IT, I DID IT!!!

Dee - thanks for asking the "Stella Maris" question...I've wondered about that myself.  I assumed it was the name she used when she was in the theater or as a "working" girl. 

Elaine - I think you're right that he thought she may have emigrated with the "son"....but he also spent a lot of time traveling around on that motorcycle in the hopes of somehow finding "him".  I guess the bottom line is, he just didn't know for sure and would visit the docks and wonder if she may have left the area for good. 

Oooh, and Ipods. We've just joined that brigade. I've only got a Mini (which holds about 1000 songs - but not enough for me!) Jamie (no 1 son) has the 20gb and I covet it! We even had them engraved which you can do if you buy them direct from Apple (at no extra cost either). Mine says "Bewitch the mind.... Ensnare the senses...."  Is that sad or what?

Spoilers::  

Dee, "Stella Maris" was what PL's lover called herself ("Star of the Sea") which is why the young Stella did not recognise her as being her mother when he talked about her. As for the docks thing, I have wondered about that too. IMHO, he thought that she had either a) emigrated abroad with their "son" or b) drowned herself! I move towards the former.

Ricky Nicky, I shall be looking out for you!

Sir Ian in Corrie - when will it end? Fair dos to him for doing it though. Can't see AR looking for a part alongside Mr Boredom, Ken though!

All your comments about AABA were fascinating! Thanks for sharing with me.

Alfan -- I agree about Hugh Grants hair. It was such a grease slick, it actually made Snape's long locks look fluffy!

Palabra -- You're right, there were several really great actors in the background of AABA. I enjoyed watching their interactions. They came across like old pros who had worked together on the boards for decades -- and in reality, they probably had!

Vicki -- Thanks for sharing the story of how Stella got the role. You have to admire her gumption! I still think she came across as dumb (not cute, innocent, inexperienced dumb...just plain dumb), but the directors must have been happy, so... who am I to complain! But you're right -- how could she possibly have not loved him "at least a little bit"!

POSSIBLE SPOILER* Two questions:

#1: Could someone explain the whole "Stella Maris" thing? I presume that was his lover's name. Was she an actress (it was her stage name)? A prostitue?  Is there a background to their story that I missed?

#2: Why did he always go to the dock? Because he'd been a sailor with the Navy and loved the sea? Did he know she'd sailed away?

She's in a Marvin mood....

But don't panic...She will get over it!!

I thought about you and your iPod when I read that Sue! 

My Sweetie has just recently introduced me to what an iPod can do and I have to say....I can't wait for Christmas!  I've already put in my order. And I told him it was his own fault for I had not even entertained the idea until he showed me his!  LOL 

I have a ton of radio plays that I've been recording from BBC Radio 4 that will be perfect for an iPod.

I will try to get a ticket, too. I'll try it tomorrow. Elaine, how about another meet-up?

Hah! Like the bit about whether BG would get one of the Special Edition ipods!!! Well I won't part with mine not even to Bill gates! (Especially not to BG he can afford his own)

Almost NON AR related:

CNN crawl just a few minutes ago about two of my favorites!

Bono and Bill Gates hung out together after a U2 concert in Seattle over the weekend.  Bono and Gates share a passion for Third World Devolopment. 

Here's the story on CNN.com

*grin* What does one do when you hang out with the likes of Bono or Gates?

Kathy, you HAVE to try and get here in time. It will be a HOOT!

  YAY!!!! Looks like we will have yet another great showing from our group at the Chelsea event!  Can't wait to hear about it.  It ought to be a good talk! 

Are you still working on a day or two earlier, kathy???  Still wishing you luck that something will come up! 

Hey Severina, just booked this afternoon. I, too, have no idea how I'm going to fit it in, but I'll do my best!

Woo hoo - registered for the fall at Chelsea and booked myself a ticket to the Andrew Marr talk.

Now will either have to book the day off or put my foot down about not working late...

Anyone else going?

Sev

Welcome Palabra!  I'm glad you found us and hope you will post with us often. 

Thanks, Juliet!  I've just skimmed over the article and will pour over it more thoroughly a little later.  I realize ET highlights other organizations but Wise is the only one I had time to read about this morning. The purpose of Wise rings right in with what Kim and Michelle were talking about yesterday. Don't just give......you have to give AND educate if you really want to make a dent in eliminating such suffering.      

I think Emma Thompson is such a good writer especially when its something she is passionate about.   

The real name of the girl who played Stella in AABA is Claire Woodgate - and I'm pretty sure she was actually 20 when she did AABA.  She's done a few things since then, but nothing earthshattering.  I remember reading that she wanted the part so badly that she arrived more or less in character for the audition, so that they'd never see her as anyone other than Stella.

Personally I like AABA.  It has a few comedic moments but for the most part it's a tragedy of the sort Shakespeare might have written about.  I was interested to see the number of well-known people acting in it - Prunella Scales, Edward Petherbridge, Nicola Pagett, Alan Jones, Rita Tushingham, Carol Drinkwater and Peter Firth. 

Not entirely OT, Emma Thompson wrote an article in Saturday's Telegraph mag about her trip to Africa on behalf of ActionAid, a charity also supported by AR, as part of the MPH campaign. You can see it here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml;sessionid=JPEW5FVGOZJR3QFIQMGSM5OAVCBQWJVC?xml=/arts/2005/04/26/ftemma23.xml&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=55033

(I hope!!)

I thought the quote from the Barry Norman interview rang a little bell, AFNH so I went digging.  Here is what I found from the infamous "That Book".  Unfortunately since it is from "That Book", we can't be to sure of the authenticity.

And Alan himself admitted in a location interview on Barry Norman's Film 95: 'It's a strange film to be doing in a way, a bit like being a vulture on your own flesh ... we have actors playing actors, using a stage for a film set and using our own lives as raw material. Georgina is remarkable . . . she claims to be seventeen but I'm going to put it out that she's forty-three.'

My turn to get tomatoes..... LOL

I think on most film sets (with the exception of the obvious, I'm sure lol), that most nudity/sex scenes are done with only essential crew members present on set.  I forget who I heard say this and where...sorry. 

I've never thought what Georgina Cates did was all that bad.  In fact, I've often admired her spunk.  Now, if the situation had been reversed and she lied about being older and she was in fact a minor, then that could have been a serious problem.  

I find it hard to understand why AR, Mike Newell, and Hugh Grant would be "hurt" about what GC did in order to get the part. Surely, they know that sometimes it takes something out of the ordinary to win a part and understand.  

I've only read reports that AR was upset about the deception.  One being a Times interview that you can read on Claire's site.  And in the interview, it is Mike Newell that says that AR was a bit miffed, not AR himself. 

Clare Woodgate/Georgina Cates has done only a small handful of crappy films since AABA so obviously her deception got her no where.  But I still feel like no one could have played Stella better than GC. 

BTW, its my understanding that GC did actually legally change her name and she is married to a wealthy man and lives in Virginia.  Anyone have any more current information on her? 

I'm also still puzzled by "Claire Woodgate" being both GC's AND Kim Cattrall's real name. 

Speaking of KC, there has been no more mention of KC in relation to Snow Cake.  That's sort of a bummer for me because I really would like to see KC and AR paired up on screen!  I think there could be definite chemistry between the two.  But I suppose not all is lost though, there is still filming going on in Toronto till mid May and KC's play ends this Saturday so there is still hope! 

Has the girl who played Stella ever done anything else? Did the deception get her anywhere in the long run?

Well, I can fully understand, that AR was personally hurt when he had to learn, that this girl Stella war much older than 16 - who wouldn't be, fooled like this, playin such sensitive scenes.

BTW - Kate Winslet made herself older to geht her part in S&S ;o)

Ricky

ThankU Kimberly!

And you're right! Googled around and read that she was 41 year "old" when she died! That's sad to read!

I thought she looked familiar but didn't know her name...

Oh, and one more thing I forgot to mention.  ABBA does improve with repeated viewings.  I also had to rely on the subtitles the first couple of times.  Here we all supposedly speak English, yet I found many of the accents difficult to understand.  Once you've seen it once or twice with the closed captions, you will say, "D'oh!  I get it now" and will be able to enjoy it without subtitles. 

Watch it again in a few days or weeks.  You will notice subtleties in the story that make it very enjoyable to watch.

Natasxxx: I believe AR is pictured with the British stage actress, Katrin Cartlidge. She died suddenly in 2002 of pneumonia, if I recall correctly.

Dee - First of all, you are correct.  ABBA is the farthest thing from a comedy there could be.  Yes, there are comedic moments.  There are the classic dysfunctional theater types whose foibles and phobias are amusing, but it is, in essence, a tragedy.  Makes you wonder if the marketing people ever actually watch the film. 

I like your comment on how AR lends an element of the heroic to his character.  In another actor's hands, this character could easily come off as a heartless cad, a prima donna (or perhaps I should say Il Divo), or a clueless, idiotic jerk.  But AR plays it with enough humanism and skill that, despite his seduction of this young girl, you see that he does still have a heart and a conscience. 

The character of Stella comes off as dumb because she is dumb.  (You would have to be to not realize that you're in bed with such a sexy man!!  ). 

I don't know if you've read the back story on how she got this part?  First of all, the actress' real name is not Georgiana Cates.  Apparently, she first auditioned as herself, under her real name and was turned away....they wanted a younger actress...near the age of sixteen, like the character.  So she went back again, under a different name, little or no make-up, a juvenile hair-do, and lied about her age.....and she got the part!  No one recognized her as the same actress who had auditioned earlier.  Apparently, she had everyone fooled.  But later, and I can't remember if it was near the end of the shoot or after the film wrapped, but the truth came out and not everyone was pleased...especially AR.

The story goes that because he and this young actress were filming some very adult scenes together, he went out of his way to try and be sensitive and make her feel as comfortable as possible (such a gentleman ) even as far as seeing that there were as few crew members as possible hanging around on the days they were shooting these scenes.  It was reported that he was not happy about finding out that all this time, she was an adult actress in her 20's and not an inexperienced teenager as he was led to believe.  He probably felt that he had been made a fool of...and he wasn't the only one.  I guess Mike Newell (the director) wasn't real pleased upon hearing the news either.

In her defense however, it is really tough out there to get good roles.  As a struggling unknown, you would do almost anything to get a part in a film like this.  A well-known, successful director and fabulous cast.  Who could say we wouldn't do the same thing?  I can see both sides of the issue.  She knew she could play the clueless teenager role, and by-God, she proved it.  I'm sure now that 10 years have passed, those bitter feelings have disappeared.

Question: can someone tell me who the lady next to Al?

TnX!!!

I too wondered about the fact that AABA was considered a comody,,,,,the only thing really funny about that movie is Hugh Grants hair.

Right, so now I want to go even more! Just been to the website and I realise it is in the new Art College site on Millbank. This used to be the Army Medical Services College and I have spent many a fond-remembered time in the lecture theatre and at Regimental Dinners in the huge Dining Hall. I really hope they have not done too much to it as it was beautiful inside. We were all very sorry when they decided to sell it. We lost our very well liked Adjutant too as he went on to oversee the closure and transfer of the building. It will be really interesting to go back! Now all I need is a day off!

Kathy, what a dilemma you have left me with! So few days off, so much to do! I'd love to go to that Chelsea thing, but can I swing it somehow? There must be a way!

How sad about those toddlers. It's a worry that lives with mothers every day of their lives. You just have to take all the precautions that you possibly can.

Dee, I cannot abide the Stella character in AABA. I really want to slap her! But AR looks great in this film, so I excuse her - a bit.

Kathy - We all feel your pain! Any way you can change the date that you'll be in London?

POSSIBLE SPOILERS* I just watched AABA for the first time. Can anyone explain why the DVD jacket called it a "warm hearted comedy" and "hilarious"? In my humble opinion, there was nothing funny about it at all. Did I miss something? It was more of a character study of a group of emotionally challenged people --with a tragic ending.

AR looked gorgeous (I thought I'd start panting and groaning along with him at one point ) and comes across very dashing. Loved the leather coat! He brought an element of the heroic to his character that was wonderful. I also thought Hugh Grant did a good job with his despicable character.

But the actress who played Stella was horribly disappointing (once again, just my opinion). I couldn't understand half of what she said and had to turn on the subtitles to follow conversation (her teeth also needed a good brushing, but that's my own personal hangup ). I think she was trying to portray Stella as deep, introspective, intelligent and eager for grownup experiences...but with all of her mumblings and open-mouth stares, she just came across as dumb.

Sorry to drone on. If AABA is one of your favorite movies, I apologize profusely! I'm going to watch it a few more times -- maybe it improves with repeated viewings? At least I can pause/slow motion AR's sex scenes! I just feel like such a traitor for not liking it better!

Don't think I shall be able to make that one, I have al ot of stuff booked for June (AR, U2 etc etc) and am rapidly running out of money!! I might be sidetracked looking at Andrew Marrs ears if I went! But never say never eh!

Good eBay browsing, Sue!!!  Those pics from MNiRC don't look as good as the ones Nit and Gloria took.  I hope people will steer clear of them. 

kathy!  We have got to figure out a way to get you to London a couple days earlier!  Dang it!  If you can't get there then, at least it sounds like he will be there and apt to show up for some more stuff!  Maybe something will come up.  Elaine, RickiNicki, Sue, anyone??? Do you think you will get to go? You know we have to live through you!

The missing toddlers is terribly terribly sad, Sue.  The recent cases of missing/lost/dead children have just about been to hard to take. 

Hang on ! Someone further down wants £9.99!!!!

Also someone is selling 4 Great Unique photos from the MNiRC 1st night HERE. Hope they aren't the ones off TARF.

Aww Kathy!! You aren't having much luck are YOU? No Kevin Spacey and now No Alan!!!

Just saw THISon Ebay. In the immortal words of Victor Meldrew "I don't believe It!!" This dvd was free in yesterday's Sunday Times. There is an interesting 30 minute piece on HHG2TG but No, repeat No Alan Rickman apart from a couple of clips from the movie with Marvin (Marvin, Not Melvin). These clips are on other trailers except for one where he says "Freeze?I'm a robot not a refridgerator" and the jerk is asking £8.99!! Don't touch it!!

Ladies, the below is info about the interview with alan Rickman at his alma mater Chelsea Art School.  Now, I want you to notice it is the 21st of June.  That is my birthday.  Will I be in London then?  NO!!! I will be in London the 23rd.  Can my timing be possibly any worse?????

Andrew Marr talks with Alan Rickman Lecture Theatre 21 June 6.30pm
Andrew Marr, broadcaster (BBC Political Editor) talks with Chelsea graduate Alan Rickman, one of the UK’s leading actors.
Tickets £7 (£4 concessions) by telephoning 020 7269 1606

Andrew Marr talks with Richard Deacon. Lecture Theatre 28 June 6.30pm
Andrew Marr, broadcaster (BBC Political Editor) talks with Visiting Professor and Chelsea graduate Richard Deacon, award-winning British sculptor (Turner Prize 1989).
Tickets £7 (£4 concessions) by telephoning 020 7269 1606

Sniff, sniff, somebody please go and tell me what I've missed!!!

Just read that tragic story about the missing Georgia toddlers, so sad.

Never mind what's he got in his bag...what's with the woman in the background with the pink hair?  She's to tall to be Mrs. Slocomb!  LOL

Yes Peekabooh, looks like a pot wrapped in pink tissue paper. When the pic came out a couple of years back there was much fun to be had wondering why he was carrying a couple of loorolls round with him!!

I was amazed to learn of the American recruiting methods too Elaine. I can't imagine many Brit teens taking kindly to that! (Mother of two teen boys myself!)

Thanks for that article, Kimberley. As in most conflicts, there are stories to be told on both sides, equally tragic, equally worthy. But I agree with Sue, although there was an underlying current of political bias, the play itself was about Rachel, and no one else. As for Rachel's parents launching them selves into protests, perhaps the mothers of the "other Rachels" should  protest at the injustices and waste of their own daughter's deaths. It all comes down to how you handle grief and loss.

As a member of the UK military (albeit a reservist, and a volunteer) I am always surprised at the vigour of the US Military Machine and it's recruiting tactics. We binned the old "recruiting sergeant" method of going round pubs, schools, etc offering "The King's Shilling" half a century ago. We get the odd advert on the TV, very small newspaper ads, and stands at Shows and exhibitions that draw in mostly kids wanting the chance to play with "Army things" rather than consider joining uo when they get old enough. But we don't have to register either. I can't believe you still have to do that as I thought "the draft" was no longer. I think if you don't go OTT for recruits, then at least you get young people who actually want to be in the military, and not someone who thinks it might be a good idea after a night boozing down the pub! And although our armed forces are known not to have the best equipment or the best facilities, at least we don't have to serve on tours longer than 6 months, unlike the US. That must be awful. I served 3 months in Iraq and that was plenty, thank you. I've read that your reservists are often just about to go home when they get told they have to stay for another 6 months or year. That must be awful! We volunteer, and although they can keep us for 2 years, it has never been done because they know that we would go straight home and resign, or never volunteer again! You have to have good will on both sides. And I'm still against the war! We should be out of Iraq now as we haven't done them any favours!

OOPS! BIG OT post!  

Oh and Hi to Kate! Nice to see you post here! Come back again. And to Ricky Nicky,   back.

Red Tango, we knew you would not disappoint us! 

And lastly, my son actually bought a Make Poverty History wristband before me! Now Ive got to go down to Oxfam and get one too! (And the ad was on last night - but not the one with AR. I find that really odd.)

Peekaboo, that pic was taken at the Chelsea Flower Show a couple of years ago. I think it's a pot plant!

I forgot to post this one.... what the heck is in that bag???

Kimberley--Thanks for the other view point.  I actually take no sides on the Israeli Palestinian issue other than they both should be ashamed.  Equal guilt, equal tragedy.  Such waste of human life is appalling.  No Rachel should die. No Jewish family or British family, or American or Palestinian family should have to grieve the loss of their child from the conflict over this issue.  I do however imagine that AR tried to be balanced.  He's smart enough to know how explosive this issue is. Anyway off my soap box.

Claudia, thanks also for OK to discuss these topics.  I am so glad to hear people from all over express their opinions--somehow I think that lively thought and discussion is what AR has in mind when he gets involved some of these projects. and as usual everyone here is wonderful, articulate and accepting of others views, even if different from their own--agree to disagree and still be friends!   Good on everyone!           

Good morning, everyone!  Sorry for being a little late on posting but its been a slow (cool) morning! Mondays can be that way sometimes.  LOL 

Thanks for the report from the 19th Kate in the Midwest.  I'm looking forward to everyone else's reports when they return from the UK. 

Kimberly, I just have to say that your posts are certainly AR related.  I mean, after all, the man does devote a great deal of his life to helping the less fortunate so our talking about it (and most especially doing something) certainly falls into "on topic"!   

Oh and BTW, I think I've told you this before in private but, Lila Lipscomb is one of my heros.  Bless her heart, she has really become a shining example to follow.  

Hmmmm, I didn't realize that Michael Moore (another of my heros) knew AR!!!!  There has to be a way for MM to work AR into one of his films!  LOL    

I hope everyone will continue to post your thoughts and feelings on this board.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading so far and hope it will continue. 

Michelle: I have always loved the starfish story, too. However, I do like to take it to a higher level. Rather than stand at the seashore throwing the starfish back, why not find out what is causing the starfish to beach in such large numbers? Once that problem is solved,(through systemic change), all the starfish will be saved, and we can move on to other problems that plague the starfish.  (I'm using the starfish metaphorically here as representative of human beings/societal ills.)  I hope you get what I mean and I haven't been too convoluted!

Kimberley and Kathy- Your posts are not O/T at all. If everyone in the wealthier nations tried to make a difference in what ever way they could then it benefits us all That star fish story is spot on to describe ARs philosophy on life, con't you think? Just do what you can and don;t make a fuss about it.

Girls,  thnx for all the new articles...!!

I'm off for now!

Kathy: A wonderful book which tells the stories of a few of the young men who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq, as told by their mothers, is "A Mother's Tears."  The website is here:

http://www.motherstears.com/index.html  Lila Lipscomb's story is included in this collection.  What is sad is how many of the young men died doing tasks which they were not trained for, but superiors insisted they perform, or died due to faulty equipment.

Btw, Kathy, my late mother was from Arkansas. My cousin, Martha Shoffner, was a state representative from Jackson County for a few years. She decided to run for State Auditor in the last election and lost to Jim Wood, I believe. I have visited the state many times and understand your frustation with the lack of cultural resources and booze!  BUT, there is also a lot I love about the state, too. (Arkansas Trivia: Hemingway wrote "The Sun Also Rises" in Arkansas, as his last wife was from AR=not alan rickman, btw. )

My last comment here, I hope, on volunteerism: I just want to point out that as a volunteer I try to create systemic change, not just random acts of kindness, however nice those may be.  I really take to heart the saying: You can give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day, OR you can teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.

Geez, Kate, look what you started! I never post this much. And, none of it is Rickman-related either......

Oh,  Claudia, for the lovely interview! I like his hair!

And thank you, Kimberly, for the review!

back to Elaine and to Kate! Kate, did you have a nice trip back to the U.S.?

Thanks for that Kimberley. It is always good to see the other point of view. I am certainly not going down the "Right or wrong"  debate road. All of those deaths were pointless. I would however just take  one quote :

"But ultimately, this play isn't really about Corrie, but about fomenting hatred of Israel."

I have seen the play and that is one thing I do think the play did so well, it was about her and not about making people hate Israel. IMHO!

Lucy - love the icon!

Another view of Rachel Corrie:

The forgotten Rachels

Tom Gross, THE JERUSALEM POST

Apr. 25, 2005

My Name Is Rachel Thaler is not the title of a play likely to be produced anytime soon in London. Thaler, aged 16, was blown up at a pizzeria in an Israeli shopping mall. She died after an 11-day struggle for life following the February 16, 2002 attack when a suicide bomber approached a crowd of teenagers and blew himself up.

She was a British citizen, born in London, where her grandparents still live. Yet I doubt that anyone at London's Royal Court Theatre, or most people in the British media, have heard of her. "Not a single British journalist has ever interviewed me or mentioned her death," her mother, Ginette, told me last week.

Thaler's parents donated her organs for transplant (helping to save the life of a young Russian man), and grieved quietly. After the accidental killing of Rachel Corrie, by contrast, her parents embarked on a major publicity campaign. They traveled to Ramallah to accept a plaque from Yasser Arafat on behalf of their daughter. They circulated her emails and diary entries to a world media eager to publicize them.

Among those who published extracts from them in 2003 was the influential British leftist daily The Guardian. This in turn inspired a new play, My Name Is Rachel Corrie, which opened this month at the Royal Court Theatre, one of London most prestigious venues. (The New York Times recently described it as "the most important theatre in Europe.")

The play is co-edited and directed by Katharine Viner, editor of The Guardian's weekend magazine, and by film star Alan Rickman (of Die Hard and Harry Potter fame). Their script weaves together extracts from Corrie's journals and e-mails.

For those who don't recall the story, Rachel Corrie was a young American radical who burned mock-American flags at pro-Hamas rallies in Gaza in February 2003. A short while later she died after jumping in front of an Israeli army bulldozer that was attempting to demolish a structure suspected of concealing tunnels used for smuggling weapons.

Partly because of the efforts of Corrie and her fellow activists in the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), the IDF was unable to stop the flow of weapons through these tunnels. Those weapons were later used to kill Israeli children in the town of Sderot in southern Israel, and elsewhere.

However, in many hundreds of articles written on Corrie and published worldwide in the last two years, most papers have been careful to omit such details. So have Rickman and Viner, leaving almost all the critics who have reviewed the play completely clueless about the background of the events with which it deals.

"Corrie was always a progressive with a conscience she went to work with the International Solidarity Movement in Gaza," wrote Michael Billington in The Guardian last week, without a shred of explanation as to what the ISM actually is.

ISM is routinely described as a "peace group" in the Western media. Few make any mention of ISM's meeting with British suicide bombers Omar Khan Sharif and Assif Muhammad Hanif, who a few days later blew up Mike's Place, a Tel Aviv pub, killing three and injuring dozens – including British citizens. Or of the ISM's sheltering in its office Shadi Sukia, a leading member of Islamic Jihad. Or of the fact that in its mission statement the ISM says "armed struggle" is a Palestinian "right."

"'Israel' is an illegal entity that should not exist," wrote ISM media coordinator Flo Rosovski, clarifying the ISM's idea of peace.

Unfortunately for those who have sought to portray Corrie as a peaceful protester, photos of her burning a mock American flag and stirring up crowds in Gaza were published by the Associated Press and on Yahoo News on February 15, 2003, before she died. But the play doesn't mention this.

So British reviewers are left to tell the British public that the play is a "true-life tragedy" in which Corrie's "unselfish goodness shines through" (Evening Standard).

"Corrie was murdered after joining a non-violent Palestinian resistance organization," writes Emma Gosnell in the Sunday Telegraph ("murdered" is a term even Corrie's staunchest defenders have hesitated to use up to now).

Charles Spencer in The Daily Telegraph talks of "Corrie's concern for suffering humanity one leaves the theatre mourning not only Rachel Corrie but also one's own loss of the idealism and reckless courage of youth."

In one of the most astonishing comments, Michael Billington, the Guardian's critic, writes of the play: "The danger of right-on propaganda is avoided."

It is ironic to reflect that there have been several real victims of the intifada called Rachel – and hard to believe that these critics have ever heard of them. All these other Rachels died within a few months of Corrie but – unlike her – in circumstances that weren't disputed. They were deliberately murdered:
Rachel Levy (17, blown up in a grocery store); Rachel Levi (19, shot while waiting for the bus); Rachel Gavish (killed with her husband, son and father while at home celebrating a Pessah meal); Rachel Charhi (blown up while sitting in a Tel Aviv cafe, leaving three young children); Rachel Shabo (murdered with her three sons aged 16, 13 and five, while at home).

Only one critic (Clive Davis in London's The Times) dismisses parts of the play as "unvarnished propaganda." At one point Corrie declares: "The vast majority of Palestinians right now, as far as I can tell, are engaging in Gandhian non-violent resistance." As Davis notes, "Even the late Yasser Arafat might have blushed at that one."

Rachel Corrie's death was undoubtedly tragic. But ultimately, this play isn't really about Corrie, but about fomenting hatred of Israel. The production is now sold out and there is talk of it being staged in America. The Royal Court is also rushing out a printed edition of the play to give to schools.

The writer is the former Jerusalem correspondent of The Sunday Telegraph.

Nice starfish story, Kathy. Just trying to do one small helpful thing can make a difference. Pebble in a pond sort of thing.

Kimberley-It has been a very weird experience since both my boys are now 18 and have "registered" as they have to do in case the military wants them.  We get phone calls constantly from military recruiters who want to do all kinds of "wonderful" educational things for my boys.  And the mail is incredible.  I am definitely NOT anti-military, but it got so crazy I finally told the last one that my son has a chronic illness and would not be eligible, and besides I didn't want him to be cannon fodder anyway.  No more phone calls.  Michael Morre is great.  I think I mentioned this before, but before the election MM came to UCA where I go to school and talked for 2 hours and answered questions for even more--also had places to register to vote.  Very gracious and giving to the overflowing crowd that went to see him. Somehow I wasn't surprised to hear MM knows AR.  If everyone gives a little extra in his/her own special way it will add up to alot. AR is a great example of quietly helping where he can without fanfare. Reminds me of a story I heard somewhere --a little girl is walking along a beach throwing in star fish that got washed up on shore. There were hundreds of them. A man walking along said, little girl it's not going to make any difference there are too many to throw back in.  She thought a minute and said, but it makes a difference to this one.

Ooh my time is up, too--how'd I get so long winded tonight? sorry!

Kimberly, wow!  You've done so many wonderful things.  I agree with you about the military, btw.  I, too, have issues with rich, oil-glutted politicians using penniless kids as cannon fodder for their own personal gain.

I really want AR to bring this play over here, and you're right: there would be a lot of interest.

Kate: Thank you for the review.  How lucky you are to have seen the play in London!

Getting out of your front and doing something to better the world  isn't hard--especially if you live in Flint, Michigan!  I have worked in Economic/Job Training for the past 20 years and am now working on my master's in social work.  (Some trivia: My former co-worker and good friend, Lila Lipscomb, was in Michael Moore's film, "Farenheit 911." Michael Moore dedicated his book, "Dude, Where's My Country?," to Rachel Corrie. Michael hails from Flint and still lives in the area.)

As for being of service, I currently volunteer at my local resource center, connecting people to the services they require to live a quality life: food, shelter, ..... well, you name it, we can usually find it. I have donated my time as a tutor to kids who parents were both imprisoned, helped illiterate adults learn to read, and threw a hard-boiled egg () at an Army Recruiter trying to recruit young, impoverished high school drop-outs at our local youth center.  (He didn't see me do it and when he turned around, he asked me--the professional looking lady in the blue suit--if I saw anything; I just looked bewildered.) The egg was part of my lunch, btw. (I also don't hate the military, btw, but I do question some of their tactics, nonetheless.)  Okay, I don't recommend the egg-throwing as a community service venture!

So, get ye out into your communities.  Together we can make a difference, one deed at a time!

My Personal Creed:

[Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free. Eugene V. Debs]

Also, yesterday I had a very "Arab" kind of day.  I went to get my hair and nails done. My hairdresser, Hani, is a Palestinian Christian from Israel. My nail tech, Kira, is from Lebanon. When Kira was a small child, she and her family came back from visiting an aunt and found their house was no more--it had been reduced to a pile of rubble by a bomb. Hani lost three Palestinian friends  when a suicide bomber hit a disco in Israel.  I mentioned Rachel Corrie to both of them. They hadn't heard of her, but they thought she made a bad decision going to Rafah. Hani said he wouldn't go to Rafah, it's so bad there and he's Palestinian.

After this, I met a friend for lunch at a restaurant called "The Jerusalem Inn."  Saw a friend of my cousin's, Yusef, who is a Muslim Palestinian from Nazareth. He is much more "political" than Hani and Kira.  We talked a bit about Rachel Corrie and the situation in Gaza.  He hadn't heard of her, either, but thought it just a great tragedy, among other things.

At any rate, I couldn't stop thinking what a weird day yesterday was, and I just could not keep Rachel Corrie or the Palestinian situation off my mind. I think I should contact Michael Moore and since he knows Alan Rickman, have him convince Alan to bring the play to Flint. We have one of the largest Arab populations in the country, so I think interest in the play would be quite high.  

Ah.....I think I've used up my alloted GB space for the month, havent' I.  I just had to share and hope I didn't bore y'all.

I was in the audience at the April 19th My Name is Rachel Corrie performance and I’m still trying to sort out my thoughts and feelings. I’m definitely ashamed that I hadn’t heard of this young woman’s story before the play, but I’m also trying to figure out how best to get involved in issues beyond my family and my front door.

I do hope that The Royal Court & Co. are able to share this moving work with more than just the 85 people a night who’ve seen it since it opened. Regardless of your politics, Rachel’s words are moving. Her sister told us that she transcribed Rachel’s journals and that – except in a very few cases – Rachel hadn’t scratched out or edited anything. A humbling thought for someone who has to re-re-re-re-write as much as I do.

One thing that is absolutely clear to me is that I loved meeting so many of my fellow GBers and Rickmaniacs. We are a diverse lot, but we have a point of common interest. I, for one, applaud Mr. Rickman for uniting us, even if he’s unaware of that aspect of his humanitarian work.

Saw this on an HP site. Brian Cox is being replaced as the voice of Aslan in the "Chronicles of Narnia" movie. Here's what the item says:

The big news of the Biola Media Conference is that Brian Cox is no longer doing the voice of Aslan! Apparently he has lost some weight and his voice has changed.

Reportedly, Jason Isaacs, Timothy Dalton, Sean Bean, Gerard Butler, Ian McKellen, and Ralph Fiennes have all auditioned for the part. No choice has yet been made.

I can think of a voice that would be perfect.

Here's a little animation I made.

So sorry, Daydreamer!

I really need to open another window so that I know who I'm thanking! Memory loss comes with age unfortunately.

For Fan Fic 'ficianados, Azazello has finally finished her HP epic, "But You Alone". I have been following this fic since she started it eons ago. It is a Sev/HG ship, but at least HG is an adult, and it is so well written, I have found it completely absorbing and addictive. You can find it over at "Ashwinder"  (ashwinder.sycophanthex.com) I really recommend this for a good "online" read!

Kimberly -- Those buttertarts look fabulous (and they were even named after me!). No wonder AR loves them - but I'll bet they are wicked pudge-makers!

Also: and thanks for the headsup on the eBay "fake" photos. Man...to think of all the years I've wasted actually working for a living when I could get rich with my own STUPID photo manipulation business! Disgusting!

Claudia - Rhubarb is a staple in spring cooking around here. Pie, crisps, cobblers, sauces...you name it, we put rhubarb in it! Ya want some recipes!?

Juliet -- No way! Indiana should host the Rhubarb Fest for AR! I've already started planning the pie eating contest and have declared myself the first Rhubarb Queen!

BTW - the lineless photos weren't my work. Daydreamer did the magic on those beautiful pictures!

Made a new paper from B&W pix:

Rhubarb?

OK, get onto Wakefield Council first thing tomorrow morning and get them to invite AR to the next annual rhubarb festival. I kid you not.

Yorkshire rhubarb is acknowledged as the finest there is, and Wakefield is the UK capital of rhubarb, and it's only 5 miles from my house!! LOL!

Kathy, nice to see that you are back in the land of the living. I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end!

Just been on Itunes to see what was new for downloading. They have a Marvin Playlist and exclusive "Marvin Mixes" by Stephen Fry. (I've got "Reasons to be Miserable" but there's no sound bite of AR.) I can't leave a link as there isn't really one to go to. Just go on the site and follow the links.

This is a busy place today.

Hi Elaine and Barbara the H.

Thanks for the article on BN he is great, I enjoyed it very much.

Claudia, I have to thank you for cluing me in to ICtC with BN It was a very touching movie.

What is the deal with John Malcovitch???  Not only is he not sexy, he is not good looking nor is he a good actor.  Every movie I have seen him in he plays john Malcovitch! --I have the same opinion of Clint Eastwood (I'm sure my husband is rolling in his grave at that bit of blasphemy!!!)

Elaine, thanks for the TV clips, not only are you talented, you're very generous.  You go girl!!!

Love the pics and without lines--good job everyone!

 This will be me today, shoveling out my house after having my head in the books and nothing else for weeks, God-forbid my boys should recognize much less cleanup the mess!

two more weeks of school, then I am going to make a trip across the boarder and buy me some booze and celebrate!!!

Hi.. I read this post :

Michelle

Today at 02:02 AM

What is your location? England

Comments:

Oh, what a lovely surprise to wake up to that interview. He's so sweet. He really thinks that people only like him because of Snape. He has no idea what effect he has on us.

Which Interview do you mean? Can I read it somewhere on this side?

I like rhubab crumble better than pie - with lots of evaporated milk over the top! Lovely Laurie brought me a big jar of Vermont Maple Syrup and I am looking forward to plonking that all over something delish - when I've finished my diet. (But does it ever finish? No, only goes on "hold") Now I shall have to look at buttertarts.

Dee, good job on the pics. I had a quick go at work last night thinking they would be easy - but they are not because they are so didgitised so well done.

I have a sneaky feeling that MNiRC has a lot to thank the AR fandom world for it's sell out, but that is not a bad thing. We are all from such varied backgrounds and usually bring along non AR obsessives with us. I think it will help when they start looking for other theatres to show it.

I keep seing that ebay thing. What a cheek the guy has! And as said, most people could do better than that if they really wanted to - it's so naff!

Now I keep thinking of pies and sweet desserts! Must go and eat a banana or something.

YAY! Dee for the lineless photos!  I really am amazed at the new photos!  I like black and white photography very much. 

Tess, will the gadgets be up for charity purposes?

Buttertarts!  I had no idea what they were either. Thanks for the link Kim.  How delicious do they look?  And they come in mine and Sweetie's favorite flavors too.  Southern Pecan (his) and Maple Walnut (mine). Gosh, my eyes are rolling back at just the thought of how rich those things must be!  LOL

I've always heard of Rhubarb pie before but I've never had a hankering to seek it out for sampling.  I think it has something to do with the name, maybe?  LOL

Can't wait to see your website, Elaine!  Saying "Watch this space" is very appropriate!

Kim, I thought that Snape chair was the stupidest and ugliest thing on eBay but now I suppose its just the ugliest!  LOL  Heck, our artists here can do a better manip than that guy! 

Can't wait for the "AR Hands video"!  You've got my curiousity up!

Thanks Barbara and Emily for the Sunday Observer.  Wow!  "The fastest sellout" in The Royal Court's 30 year history!

Sue the Times Online inteview is just fine.  Except for that little bit that clumps John Malkovich in as part of the "thinking woman's crumpet fest".  Excuse me while I go hug the toilet for a few minutes. 

Another 4* review of MNiRC in The Sunday Times:

DayDreamer very very niccceeeeee!!!!!

Sue,thanks for the article.

Kaat, thanks for the rare photos,

Daydreamer--thanks for removing the lines.

You are all helping to make this SNOWY April Sunday more bearable.

Just a small irony, especially as we've all read how AR did not complain about the weather in Wawa...

...but now that production in Wawa has apparently wrapped, they are going to get snow both today and tomorrow, at least if the forecast in Sault Ste. Marie is any indication!  (Looking out my window right now, I'd say there's a good 3 to 4 inches on the ground where I'm at.) 

KIMBERLY--> found it "accidentally" by  ....serving around the world, looking 4 pictures! (With a view risks....ones I received a virus for free.....)....

And thank u for your kind words about my icon!!!!

I found this on Times On-line from yesterday. An interview with Bill Nighy so is O/T even if AR is briefly mentioned. I copied it but am at a loss at how to share without taking up loads of this page as it is rather Long. So I have pasted here anyway and Claudia please remove if it is taking up too much space.   On paper, the long-awaited film of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is an unlikely thinking-woman’s crumpet-fest. John Malkovich, Alan Rickman and Bill Nighy, all in one movie.   Except it turns out that Malkovich, in bottle-bottom specs, plays a repulsive baddie called Humma Kavula who is nothing but a torso on weird robot legs, and Rickman doesn’t actually appear at all, since he is just the voice of Marvin, the paranoid android. Thank goodness Bill Nighy is rather dashing as Slartibartfast, the planet designer who – as every nerd knows – wins an award for creating the twiddly bits around the Norwegian fjords. He has the air of having partied to the very edge of self-destruction, pulled back and acquired a little wisdom without forfeiting any cool   In a long, greased-back wig and majestic hooded fur robe, Nighy could be the bass player in a pomp rock band. Even as an intergalactic architect there’s something of the old rocker about Nighy. “Billy Connolly said I had rock’n’roll legs,” he says, stretching them out long and languidly, hands in the pockets of his beautiful Dunhill suit. “In the Seventies, you needed legs you could tie a message to. And I have them, apparently.”   Nighy is often asked which band he used to be in. The confusion lies in his having twice played raddled rock stars: the Bowie-esque, platform-heeled lead singer in Still Crazy and his movie-stealing performance as Billy Mack in Love Actually. But the real reason is something more fundamental: like Marianne Faithfull, Iggy Pop or Keith Richards, Nighy, 55, has the air of having partied to the very edge of self-destruction, pulled back and acquired a little wisdom without forfeiting any cool.   In person, he looks, oddly, somewhat like Michael Heseltine, the same mane and colouring; but Nighy is more pinched, less lustrous – an old lion, but a moth-eaten one. Yet there is elegance in his languid 6ft 2in frame: he moves gorgeously and wears clothes very, very well. A suit at all times. Once a mod, always a mod, he says. “I aspired to what they call ‘top mod-ness’, which basically meant a suit and Ravel loafers and Madras jackets and Fred Perry shirts. There was a period of my life where I couldn’t leave the house because I didn’t have the right jeans. It was a quest and I was devout.”   Did this get him girls? “That was the intention, but nothing I did was good for getting girls.” Self-deprecation is his default mode. He charges at a topic with enthusiasm, builds the tale, then stops abruptly with a comic-rueful look, a self-deprecating “what-do-I-know” shrug.   He has just starred in a TV film written by Richard Curtis, as part of the Make Poverty History campaign, called The Girl in the Café, a romantic comedy with the unlikely setting of a G8 summit, in which Nighy plays a civil servant besotted with a mysterious woman.   “He is completely delightful and wonderfully self-effacing,” says Curtis. “The words that come up most in his work are ‘that was crap’ and ‘f***** up’. When I texted him the other day to say that Girl in the Café had gone down well in a screening, instead of replying ‘bravo’, he simply texted that he was glad he hadn’t f***** up totally.”   Curtis categorises his own house-style as “heightened truthfulness”: a performance that seems natural, but is underpinned by precision comic timing. “Bill is a perfect example of this in Love Actually,” he says. “One hundred per cent true and then 100 per cent funny when necessary. And in Girl in the Café he really showed his full range. Funny, immensely moving and immensely serious. But I also like the fact that his performances are slightly larger than life – while not appearing to be so. He has a certain magnificence.”   Nighy’s range runs from seedy chancers through jaded heroes (there is no hack alive who wouldn’t work for his wry editor in State of Play) and men tussling with their limitations (the farmer struggling with monogamy in The Lawless Heart or the blocked writer, Mortmain, in I Capture the Castle). He is, by his own reckoning, the most temperamentally unsuited person ever to act. His nickname at school was “Nerve” (short for nervous) and he was, he says, “a very windy boy”.   The son of a garage owner from Caterham, Surrey, he scraped by a fluke into grammar school. “My friends all got a different bus in the opposite direction,” he says. “And you had to wear a hat, a blue cap. My dad didn’t want me to go. He felt I’d be uncomfortable and he wasn’t wrong.” This explains his accent: proper actor posh but sliding effortlessly into geezer. But, by his telling, growing up was a period of permanent discomfort. Besides fretting about not having the requisite clothes, there was the grave matter of his hair: “I went very curly when I reached puberty, which in those days meant you might as well have killed yourself.   "Shall I leave the house? Are you insane? Look at my hair! It was the sort of hair that made your mother’s friends say ‘What beautiful hair!’ I used to put stuff on it to flatten it. Once, my English teacher pulled me by the hair and when he let go he said, ‘Nighy, you have horrible hair’, because he had this stuff over his hand. And the class just roared.”   A “dreamy boy, full of nonsense”, his first plan was to be a great writer, the next Fitzgerald or Hemingway. But when he ran away to Paris – just before his O levels, which he subsequently failed – he sat staring at blank paper and nothing came. He drifted into acting because it seemed to offer the same irregular life, “But you don’t have to write. Someone else does that and you just have to fanny about. It sounded like you don’t have to get up in the morning. Which is a laugh, because if anyone has to get up in the morning, it’s actors on film sets.”   But now he keeps true to original notions of an actor’s life by loafing around at home as much as possible. “I sleep in late and stay up late watching football [he supports Crystal Palace].” He lives in North London with the actress Diana Quick, his partner of 23 years, and their daughter Mary, 20, who played alongside her father in Stephen Poliakoff’s The Lost Prince – but his family is firmly out of interviewing bounds.   For all his self-inflicted torture, Nighy is no method actor. He thinks it’s “groovy and radical” – along with “dreamy”, his most overused words – that directors tell him what to do. “I used to worry and smoke – that was my process. I once joked that my method was to invent a hostile parallel universe and live in it for a while.” But it wasn’t quite a joke: he always beat himself up about his performances – even when, as almost always, he was critically well-received. First nights were – are – almost unbearable. “It’s like being ill, having flu or something.   You’re on the edge of your breath, slightly nauseous, you can’t concentrate on anything. People who don’t act think actors have a different response to standing in front of 500 people. But they have the same response. They just learn that you can act while feeling like that.” And movies are no better: “If you want to get paranoid, a film set is specifically designed for that.”   On and on, he goes, until you feel compelled to ask, “Do you actually enjoy any of it?” He laughs and demurs: “No... Look... Hey, I’ve had a gas.” And anyway, he adds, what else could he do at his age? It was not stage nerves that led him into booze and drugs. He would, he says, have ended up there whatever his career. And that is all he will say about those years. All he will add is: “I used to drink and it was terrible. Now I don’t drink and it is fabulous.”   He’s been sober for 12 years, but rather than having beaten addiction, it seems merely to have cascaded down to ever weaker substances. He was once a magnificent smoker: “I would rather have smoked than breathed. You couldn’t smoke more than I smoked.” And he is possibly the only person to have quit because of vampirism.   Filming Underworld, in which he plays Viktor, king of the immortals, he had to do a fight scene – “and I am not famous for fighting or indeed any kind of physical work” – and he must have thrown his shoulder out, but what he felt was a shooting pain in his chest. “It goes a bit quiet at my age when you say you have chest pains. I had scary chest X-rays, and you go into the room for your results and everything slows down. You think, ‘It’s a little early for all this.’ And I got scared.”   He hasn’t smoked since, but transferred his passion to coffee, downed tanks of the stuff. He quit coffee on January 23 this year: “But, by God, have I drunk some tea. Although if you abuse tea it doesn’t make you feel as bad as if you abuse coffee.”   His abiding addiction, though, is a crazy schoolboy passion for music. It began in his mod days, when he loved blues and soul. “I am a rhythm and blues fool,” he says. The chief pleasure of filming Hitchhiker’s was finding a kindred spirit in Martin Freeman, best known as Tim from The Office, who is aptly-cast as Arthur Dent. “Martin is incredibly good company. He made me laugh all day. He is also a devout mod: the Small Faces are to him the greatest rock’n’roll band. And he went straight in at Number One as the world’s foremost expert on popular music. It’s almost impossible to accept that he has as much information as he has.”   Nighy has never properly met Mick Jagger – just shook hands with him at a party – but you wonder if he’d be capable of speech if confronted by his idol, the old rocker’s old rocker. Nighy is in love with the Stones, plays Goat’s Head Soup on a loop. “Few things move me to patriotism,” he says. “Harold Pinter, David Hare, Tom Stoppard, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. These things make me obscurely proud to come from the same place.” He recently saw the Stones at Twickenham. “They are a staggering, staggering achievement,” he says. “I actually danced! Like a catatonic nutter.   I was surrounded by people who’d brought their sandwiches, but from the moment Charlie [Watts] went to work, I didn’t stop moving. Every now and then, people would tap me on the shoulder, going, ‘Excuse me, but are you going to be Dr Who?’”   Beneath the glumness and self-doubt, and despite having forsaken life’s most enjoyable substances, Nighy still has that Dionysian vibe going on. “He retains a lot of pleasure in things,” says Richard Curtis. “He’s not jaded, though he plays jaded very well. The thing I loved most about him in Love Actually was that in the publicity he never failed to air guitar for the photographers. He’s still having fun, after all these years.”

The Sunday Observer article about MNIRC.

Natasxxx: Thanks for posting those pics. Where did you find them?

(And little baby Simon is one of the cutest babies I've seen in a long time! Love that icon.)

Mmmmm....Kimberly!  That buttertart site looks scrumptious!  Looks high in calories too.....another goodie for Red Tango's list!  Good night, ladies.....sweet AR dreams to you all!

Those pictures Kaat found on Ebay look simular on the pictures I've found and posted@ GBH-journal!

http://www.livejournal.com/community/gbhunks/18245.html

By the way thnx Elaine & Claudia for the 2 new clips!!!

Oh, what a lovely surprise to wake up to that interview. He's so sweet. He really thinks that people only like him because of Snape. He has no idea what effect he has on us.

Now, this has to be one of the stupidest Rickman items I've ever seen on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1469&item=5575800432&rd=1

London's Sunday "Observer" has an article about the RC play. I'm sure Sue or Elaine can do their magic and share it. I've just been reading it via the Guardian Unlimited web-site.

Dee:  For you http://www.buttertartstodiefor.ca/

Also, to quote Elaine, Watch this space! I have a special "AR Hands video" I will be sending to Claudia for inclusion on this site. (Soon, I promise, Claudia, soon!!)

Alan Rickman...rubarb pie...hot tub...

Do you think the man has any idea how sexy he is, or is he amazed by all the drooling?

BTW - what are buttertarts?

AFNH and Vicki -- I'll see what I can do creating a famous painting of your favorites! Thanks for the inspiring ideas! Sounds like a fun challenge.

A world convention of ARDLHGB users! Where do you think would be the best place to meet? Somewhere neutral? US? UK? It would be just great!

I agree kathy.  I think we could give a nightclub's management a run for their money!  LOL

New to the television page are the two clips that Elaine sent me this afternoon. Thank you, Elaine!!!!

1-The clip that was mentioned last month of just a flash of AR in the Film 2005 airing.  (if I have that wrong, Elaine, let me know)

2-A snippet of Marvin (or Melvin to you, Sue *grin*) from the preview of HHG2tG on Itv2

Elaine, we bow to you, my dear! 

So sorry to hear about Sir John Mills.  I do remember him but I think as a US kid growing up in the 50's and 60's I remeber Haley Mills better.  I had a crush on her when I was little.  I always got taken to her movies--Pollyana and The Parent Trap were my favorites. It is sad he was a lovely person. 

Claudia, thanks for the interview info--hot tub, oh my!

I don't usually like rhubarb, it was one of my husband's favorites, might have to look at it in a new light.  What are buttertarts, sounds delish!!

Those pictures are all very lovely drool-drool

Too bad we all live at the 4 corners of the earth we could have an awfully fun ladies night out!!!!

Ohh love those eBay pics, Kaat! Thanks for posting!  Daydreamer, we'll look forward to the lineless versions when you get that foot out of bed.  LOL 

Thanks Sue!  We call them longjohns, round these parts. And he does look like he forgot to put his trousers on (but maybe compensated by wearing that long coat.)

Combs=combinations, the all in one underwear they always used to wear in the Westerns!! My dad used to wear those long white pants and when we were kids if they had been on the line overnight in the winter they froze and we used to waltz round the kitchen with them!LOL

OMG Sue you are right.  The combination of the white pants and the raincoat is a bit strange... but we already know about his 'interesting' fashion sense  

Daydreamer: Thanks!

Yes, I saw those too. Never seen them anywhere else. VERY expensive though! (And no, I'm not tempted this time!)

Sue:  Translation please? 

Man, those are some white pants.

Thanks Kaat! That first one looks like he has been caught in his combs!!!

I found these new black and white pictures on eBay.  I don't know if they have been discussed here, 'caus I haven't had the time to read the guestbook lately.  So I'll just take the risk and post them.

I think I'll post them on the rickman communities too.

Hot.....tub....... {head back and drool a la Homer!]

That was the thing I picked up on too - Do all us girls think alike! That and the Rhubarb Pie!

Isn't that a lovely pic of the man from that article?

Lucy, I would love the Sherriff to be my St Geroge any day! The history of St G is a little fuzzy. If I remember, he isn't actually English at all and came to be our Patron Saint in some strange way in the Dark Ages. Not such a romantic saintly person as those of the other 3 UK countries.

I am sorry that Sir John Mills has died too. You're right, he was always the stalwart in the Sunday Matinees on TV. I love him in all the old War films. And of course, a Rada graduate so will be known to AR in some way.

Well that article has certainly brightened my day, - or night anyway!

Daydreamer: I wonder what AR would look like in a hot TUBE? 

Emily, I do respect and tolerate your opinions very much (and everybody else's for that matter).  I don't expect everybody to agree with me on everything, that would be boring. 

Claudia, that article is great!  Thanks for posting it.  It's funny that we all seem to be on the same wavelength on the hot tub scene....   LOL

Emily, maybe he is in the hot tub with a big luscious slice of rhubarb pie?

Oh, I love that interview photo! 

And you can bet I will be harvesting my rhubarb with renewed enthusiasm this summer.

Let's take a quick poll.

Who do you think Alan is in the hot tub scene with?  A. Sigourney Weaver, B. Carrie-Anne Moss, C. Himself

One vote here for himself.

Thanks again Sue, this time for The Independent article. I can't get in to the Melbourne Age either. Those Aussies can be real mean sometimes! The Wawa interview was great, so relaxed.

Yes Yes Yes, Emily....I did read "HOT TUB scene"!!!  I CAN NOT wait for this film!!!!  

Try this link, Susan.  Potter Spell Broken

Elaine has been a busy little bee!  She sent me a couple of videos for the site.  I hope to have them up in a few hours!  Thanks Elaine!

Sue, I am sorry to hear about John Mills.  I am familiar with his name and knew he was one of the best (right up there with Sir John Gielgud) and I knew he was Haley's and Juliet's father.  The business will surely miss him. 

AFNH, I can understand your not remembering.  Maybe one day it will come to you.  But whatever you said sure got a brilliant smile out of him.  You should feel quite proud of yourself! 

Ohh Lucy...Saint George and Sinner George!  Love it!

Nice article, Claudia!  Hmmm, I wonder how buttertarts would taste with butterbeer...

Wow I go do supper and *hubby time* LOL and look what I miss!!

Great articles and pic. Wonder if they have done a local tv interview before they leave? hHve to check out next weeks LTV

Well, we don't have a "Saint" George in Rickmania, but we do have a "Sinner" George!

I know it's quite a stretch, but it gives me another excuse to post piccies of my favorite sheriff.

I'm eagerly awaiting to see what Red Tango does with that Rhubarb Pie remark.  I'm chuckling to myself just thinking about it. 

Alan in a Hot Tub.... Now that's a mental picture I can spend a lot of time on!

Claudia!  This article from Soo Today is the longest interview AR has given in years!  And his favorite memory of Wawa is food-related ... what a shock! 

Did everyone read the article??  He filmed a HOT TUB scene. In the snow. HOT TUB SCENE. Just wanted to make sure everyone saw that part of the article. HOT TUB.

Vicki, I was too sensitive, I guess. Yes, I am a Potter fan, within reason.

Oh, no Emily....I didn't mean to imply anything like that nor was I pointing any fingers in your direction.  I agree, it's a little "geeky", but I suppose the same could be said about spending so much time on this GB.  We all have our little obsessions and some take them farther than others.  It's one of the reasons I like the film Galaxy Quest so much because it pokes fun at just how obsessed fans can get.   

It's all in the spirit of fun, however.  Everyone has their own idea of what is entertaining and I will not throw tomatoes  at anyone who is truly enjoying themselves (ha!  I knew I'd find a use for that emoticon!)  I'm not saying you had any telltale marinara stains under your fingernails either.  I just wasn't sure if you were into HP or understood it's particular appeal.  I'm happy to hear you're a fellow Potter-head.  July 16th can not get here soon enough.  I will probably be one of the nerds at some bookstore party at midnight dressed in costume waiting for my copy of the new book.  Sometimes I just have to act silly. 

It relieves the stress.

GREAT FIND, CLAUDIA!!!!!!! Love the article...and because you've mentioned his eyes, I "blew-up" the picture especially 4 you!!!!

(hope you don't mind!)

Emily, almost tolerated?  You're one of the best posters here! 

I have tried to go to the story about the girl who is playing DR's love interest in GOF, but I'm not able to.  Is anyone else having the same problem? 

LOL! Vicki, I hope you were not referring to me when you said "you just dont understand".  

I am under JKR's spell, so I do understand.  I have read and re-read those books and seen the movies. And I like to ponder what Snape is up to. But I guess I can't understand the whole excessive "lost in a dream world" fangeek thing. It's all too "Trekkie" for me, if you know what I mean. Imagine if all the time, effort and committment some fans put into thinking about what Snape is up to could be transferred to solving a real problem ... So that's why I said the whole thing was silly. I'm glad I can voice a dissenting opinion here and (almost) be tolerated.

Great article, Claudia!  Yummm!  I love rhubarb pie! 

Happy St. George's Day to all our UK friends! 

Could someone explain a little of the history behind it for us "foreigners"?

Awwwww!  I love that latest article from Wawa.  How cute that he noticed the little girl's picture on the refrigerator. 

The mock trial of Snape is hilarious.  Yes, it may sound silly but it's all in fun.  It's also a testament to how good the books are and what a well written saga J.K. Rowling has created.  She has left her fans eager to know more information about these wonderful characters.  To pass the time between books, we potter-heads speculate, ponder, theorize,   and even write huge exposes on how we think the story will conclude or how a character will develop.  I know it leaves non-fans scratching their heads in wonder.....what can I say?  You just don't understand unless you've been placed under her spell.

I wouldn't mind seeing AR in another of my favorite Renoir's...Moulin de Gallette I believe is the name (or something like that)...pretty famous painting.  Maybe AR could be the man on the right, raising his glass...or the man on the left dancing (feel free to insert a picture of yourself as his dance partner, Dee!) 

Professor Snape Wows Wawa

Wowzers, look at that pic!!!!!

@CLAUDIA: I hope everyone has well recovered!

And a HAPPY ST.GEORGE'S DAY!

(Well it isn't a "Geroge" but I think an "Alan"will do also)

Sad news on BBC

reporting the death of Sir John Mills. I don't know how well-known he was outside Britain but to me as a child he epitomised the stiff upper-lip quiet hero. Being brought up in the Fifties and Sixties with just 2 TV stations and about one movie a week he seemed to be in every other Sunday afternoon movie my father made us watch (but I secretly loved them all!). He may be known to you as the unrecognisable *village idiot* in David Lean's Ryan's Daughter

Welcome back Claudia, hope you are feeling better now. 

And I agree with Dee, you have to see "Pirates". Johnny Depp is hilarious! It's a great film - and so faithful to the Disney Ride! I think that's the one we all get in the queue for first! 

I did that wallpaper in about 10 mins so it's not as I'd really like it. I need to find time to work on something better but I'm still learning how to put up a web site. Watch this space! (I hate that saying but seems appropriate.)

Lucy - You don't like Al Bundy?! He's my husband's HERO!

  I'm working on some new AR "famous painting" wallpapers. If you folks have requests --  AR slipped into YOUR favorite painting -- let me know. It would be fun to try!

Claudia - You haven't seen Pirates of the Caribbean yet? Run - don't walk - out to get it, girl! Johnny Depp isn't exactly my type (too short and not enough of teh pudge), but he's positively fabulous as Captain Jack!

BTW - My Bundy-loving husband and I saw the new movie Sahara last night. It's not rocket science, but lots of fun! And I never realized how cute Matthew McConnahey is! A drop dead smile and a rippling 6-pack to boot! Another handsome guy, but still lacking teh adorable pudge. Poor guy...   

Isn't PrintKey2000 a brilliant tool, Sue? 

Thanks for the review.  5 stars!!!!  YAY

The Independent have a 5* review of MNiRC HERE.

Those evil people at The Independent will probably put a pay to view on it in a day to view, so I thought I would cut and paste BUT "OH NO" they had thought of that too and you can't. However they were no match for Sue and Print Screen so I bring you the review:

Ohh Emily! Thank you so much for that article!  That racks up there with the most dreadful things I've read.  

That girl is cute as a button!  What is wrong with these people?  And it seems that Daniel Radcliffe agrees with me.  I hope that first kiss is the hottest on screen snog available on celluloid....just to gripe those nasty little twerps!!! 

Cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!

William Shakespeare (Henry V)

I love and agree with your sentiment, Elaine. And love the wallpaper! Perfect for the holiday!  Its been a while since we got a wallpaper out of you! 

Sorry for the absence everyone but the whole household has been down with a stomach flu.  We're better today but taking it easy.  Please forgive the long winded post as I get caught up. 

Emily, thanks for the new UPPA photo from the Empire awards.  I'm still torn on the fish/safety pin debate!  LOL

Aurora, don't worry!  I took no offense whatsoever.  Dolphins have been a passion of mine since I was a little girl of 7 or 8 years old.  I saw Flipper (the television series) one time and have been "flipped" for them ever since!  But there was no offense taken.

Thanks for the update from your email pal, Dee.  The people of Wawa have been absolutely fantastic in keeping the AR world so informed.  I'm like Sue and while looking for updates, I've been following their local news too.  I hope to get up that way some day.  Maybe have my pic made with the goose!  LOL  Seriously though, I don't believe I have ever seen a city so helpful with information during a film shoot before.  We can only imagine how accommodating they have been to AR and the rest of the cast and crew. 

Speaking of Wawa.  Over at Suzanne's , Slope has reported seeing a bit of AR walking a dog on eTalk Daily. She will be sending the photo to Suzanne to post soon.  I can't wait to see it!

The Hamlet pic is gorgeous, Natasxxx!!!  Sooo handsome! 

RE: It only taking AR two hours to so the voice over for Marvin.  Was it here or somewhere else that I read or heard that voice overs were really the easiest and most cost efficient for actors to do? They take very little time to complete plus they can come to work looking like heck and not worry about it. 

Thanks for the Bowness pics Juliet and AFNH!  I really do enjoy looking at the Bowness photos.  He looks so happy to be there and like he is really enjoying his fans.  If I'm not mistaken, I think everyone was pondering what AR was smiling so big about in that pic...including me?  So give it up, AFNH!  *grin*

I suppose I will need to rent Pirates of the Caribbean now that BN might be pegged for the sequel.  I've often thought about trying to catch the first because of the irrepressible Geoffrey Rush but now its a given!  LOL

Emily, did you find out what caused your browser settings to revert back to default?  It seems like I had the problem long ago but of the life of me, I can't remember what caused it.  If it comes to me, I'll let you know.

V-crotch articulation....you bad girls! 

Enjoy the smilies, Ali-Pat! That's what they're here for! 

The trial of Snape is to hilarious!  OK, I can see it on CourtTV (my fav channel next to BBC-A and CNN).  Snape would definitely need a member of the Dream Team as council.  Since Cochran just recently passed (God rest his soul), maybe F. Lee Bailey????

AFNH, thanks for the snippet from the Kevin Lloyd autobiography.  What's the title of the book?  Another addition for Ali-Pat's fabulous AR Fan's Lifetime Reading Plan  I couldn't help but giggle about your friend calling your attention to the book, AFNH!  Isn't funny how we AR fans have trained our friends and family??? 

Thanks for the head's up on the MNiRC book on eBay, Elaine!  Those creeps will sell anything!!!!  Hopefully there will be no bids on it.  *crossing fingers*

Again, I'm sorry for the long winded post. 

This story is very disturbing -- the Asian actress who plays Harry's girlfriend in GOF is under attack from girls who love Daniel Radcliffe, but it's got an ugly racist turn. Very sad.

HGTTG toys:  I read a while ago when the toys were first announced that they were going to be in stores in the US in May. Perhaps when the film's release was pushed back to April 29 from mid-May, it was too late to change the release date of the toys. I haven't seen them anywhere either. Though I did see Jay and Silent Bob bobbleheads the other day ...

Thanks for the info about the Kevin Lloyd bio!  Someone (was it you AFNH?) sent me an email about it which I accidentaly deleted--could you send it again? 

No sign of Hitchhiker toys at Wal-Mart.  Everything is Star Wars there.

Elaine, that's pretty much how I feel about being an American.

Hope you British folks have a happy St. George's Day too.

Yes Happy St.Georges Day, time to reclaim the flag from the hooligans, lager louts and fascists I think!!

Wishing all us English people a Remarkable St George's Day.

Whatever we say about our government and all the horrible people in this country who ruin lives and make us miserable, I am still proud to live here! We are not all "lager louts" thank goodness! I think we should celebrate with a pic. Rough and ready but I'm ready for sleep!:

Dee, I meant to tell you I loved your latest "doctored" painting too!

-But please don't show me any more Al Bundy pictures.  *cries: My eyes! my eyes! and runs for the Visine* LOL! 

Dee--I meant to tell you also I loved the wallpaper/painting!

The Wawa News had an short article today about a "magical phone booth" appearing beside the giant goose. Here's the link:

http://www.wawa-news.com/Newspages/04-22/042205-snowcake1.html

Here's the article. There are some photos at the site.

Snow Cake finally filmed their scenes out at the Wawa Tourist Information Centre. Early yesterday afternoon, construction could be seen as a brand new telephone booth was installed on the grass beside the Wawa Goose. Shortly a bus stop sign appeared. Later, the magical snow appeared, in huge drifts and even in spots on the highway. This was the second last day of shooting, reports have everyone pulling out and heading back to Toronto for indoors shooting.

Gee...I'm going to miss these folks!

Juliet and AFNH -- Thanks for sharing the photos (and yummy descriptions) of ARs hands. That sure gives a girl something to dream about at night! Where I'm from, the men have strong hands too -- but most of the time they are thrust into their waistbands and you can't see them for the belly overhang. Something like this...

Claudia and Vicki - Glad you like my latest "famous painting" wallpaper. That's AR from CME in the boat.  I started creating them when everyone at work made fun of the rather obvious AR wallpapers on my desk computer. Now, people "ooh" & "ahh" over the gorgous paintings on screen -- and don't even notice the gorgous man I've slipped into them!

E Bay rip-off merchants are at it again! A copy of MNiRC play book is for sale at £14.50! At the play they were being sold for £2 but the cover cost is still only £8.99. Luckily, no one has fallen for it and bid anything!

 Forgive me if this is old news but I was just googled that Bill Nighey will be in the new Pirates of the Carribean Part II.  He plays Davey Jones (as in locker ) Sounds great.  He'll be in part III as well.

sue you crack me up--I agree with you.I think I like my crotches articulated as well!

Love the hand pics

Thanks everyone for the reviews, pics, stories--you're great.

I am amazed at how often I find 6 degrees of AR.  I had to go to the Theatre Dept. today to talk to one of the profs about helping us with a play the art dept. is doing about Vincent Van gough.  We were trying to work around their performance dates to find a date for our own.  Guess what play they are doing in Oct.?? Les Liasons Dangereuses!!  Haven't found anyone that looks like AR yet but I think I'll look around, of course they are all young enough to by my sons. (I'm old, not dead ).  I'll be looking forward to that one.

Really just wanted to check in and say "Hi" to everyone.  My papers are done and I am going to veg out tonight.  Just got MC so will be a couch potato for awhile.

Kimberly: would be interesting to see who the attorney is... 

Several years ago, the Atlanta Shakespeare Company staged a mock trial of Othello as a fundraiser.  They had actual lawyers and a jury.  I thought it was a great idea!

The miners are too busy with the rock monster these days. No more birillium spheres needed.....

(I'm going to see if there's a pub!)

Hi, guys. Actually, I was referring to the virtual Marvin bobblehead on The Official HHG2tG Site.

Putting Snape on trial is just too funny.  I wonder what fanfic they're going to quote?

AR as King Rat, I love it!

My phone line went kablooey last night, so I wound up falling asleep in front of Die Hard.  Still, no dreams.  Rats.

AFNH: thank you so much for those snippets!  I wish I could see some bloopers where AR cracks up... (besides the Victoria Wood one).  And thanks for posting that wonderful picture.  I'm assuming that this is you in the pic?  If you don't mind me asking: what on earth did you say to AR to make him grin like that? 

Daydreamer: I wish I could attend, too.  It sounds like a hoot!

And I for one enjoy being silly every now and then. 

Me, too, Sabine, me too!! I think they should air that trial on Court TV!

  Wonder who his attorney is?

I'm sure nobody is taking this seriously.  It's meant to be fun.  And I for one enjoy being silly every now and then. 

You've lost me!

Would that be minors or miners???

Wow. This is one of the silliest things I've ever heard. He's fictional!  Get a life, people!  

This just in from The Leaky Cauldron:

Snape on Trial!

Just wanna wish u all a great weekend & TNX Vicki!!!

@t the moment I'm just a reader....not much news from me to tell you...

Thanks, Emily - it worked! One of the many rounded aspects of this GB - PC Answers!

Elaine - the sudden change to Bitmap only is something I actually know how to fix!  Sometimes, if you save or copy a Bitmap, it causes the delicate (poorly designed) Explorer inner workings to get stuck, and you can only save pics in Bitmap after that -- it doesnt allow the drop-down menu to come down and give you the JPG option, right? The easy fix is to go to your Internet Options and delete your Temporary Files. That should do it.

If not, there is a much more painful way, that I need to root around in my notes to find. But try the delete temporary files thing, it has worked for me many times.

"V crotch articulation" !  Goodness gracious me!  Wonder if family friendly stores like Wal-Mart will have any in stock?

BTW--Happy Earth Day!

(Claudia, what kind of monster have you created by giving me access to smileys? )

Oh, and about Explorer gremlins, my copy has suddenly started to save pics only in Bitmap form and not jpeg and I can't find out why. Is this one of those invisible updates that MS do?

Where has spring gone? It's freezing again.  

AR's hands - I always think they are a typical artist's hands. His fingers taper very delicately!

Ali-Pat, I love that quote! I wonder if he has had such an experience. E bayers would if they could, I suspect! Glad he recognises them now showing us that he's not so ignorant of the Internet as some people think.

Sue, you are so right - more radio plays! I have almost worn out my copy of A Little Like Drowning! And deer can write cars off bigger than minis. I go to work along the edge of the Quantocks and there is one particular stretch that is notorious for deer- strikes. I've seen vans with mangled bonnets and the deer did not come off too well either! Makes me cross when I see morons speeding through there at OTT speeds. There are huge warning signs. But enough of the mad Brit motoring habits (wonder if Martha is experiencing the same "phenomenon"?)

Did you enjoy AWT? I saw it at Stratford when I was at school EONS ago. And would MNiRC fit in well?

Emily, the opposite thing happened to me. Ten days of complaining, no it wasn´t Marvin.... (I almost threw my pc out of the window) and then suddenly, the next evening everything was normal, like nothing had happened! I will never understand the complex "life" of a computer.

Have a good weekend, all of you!!!

Shame my typing can't be a bit more articulate though

     Here's a Marvin toy, AND he has "v-crotch articulation"

Frankn ly I always look for my crotches to be articualte but maybe that's just me?.........

Ah, forget that link.

Darn!  Hit post before I pasted this.

Information on the Marvin doll. Not really a bobblehead per se, but his neck is articulated so I bet it bobs.

Do any of the computer wizzes here know what could cause all of one's personal Internet Explorer settings to have gone back to default overnight? Turned off computer last night and everything was OK, turned it on this morning and everything is flooey.

Ali-Pat, I keep my Sheriff doll hidden away hoping that the next time I take it out, he'll actually look like the Sheriff. I think his doll was made out of a leftover from a different movie. I'm thinking "The Beastmaster," but I'm not sure.

I would like to know where to get a Marvin bobble head doll also!  I think it would look nice standing next to my Sheriff doll and all those Snape dolls.

I have had nothing better to do lately than to clean out my filing cabinet (home sick ) and I found a quote I would like to share.  It immediately brought to mind those two over-active fans who kept "bumping into" Alan in Wawa (Three times, wasn't it?):

"Fame lost its appeal for me when I went into a public restroom and an autograph seeker handed me a pen and paper under the stall door."

Marlo Thomas

Now, I'm not saying Alan's fan base would be likely to do such a thing (although one never knows...), but it expresses clearly why I feel public figures have a right to some boundaries!

Ooh LOOK! Bill Nighy is going to be in the new Pirates of the Caribbean He plays Davy Jones (of Locker fame not the Mancunian of restricted growth who used to squawk in the Monkees!) Well that will certainly be something to look forward to won't it?

No Juliet, i didn't. i think my Mini would have come off worse

No, Peekaboo, that's it, a whole pic dedicated to AR's hands!

Sue, did you have your wits about you and get the deer, so we can all have a BBQ at your house tomorrow, LOL!

The Wawa Goose is being featured in the last couple of days of filming Snowcake. Fancy going all that way and no snow.Mind you according to the NewsWeather man there may be some at the weekend. I have become quite attached to the Saulte and Wawa news over these past weeks, and will miss them. Hell, I can even recognise the Mayor now. And those lakeside houses that work out about £110,000 are making me seriously consider moving!

As I drove home from the thatre last last night a large (for these parts) deer with antlers ran across the road in front of meHowever, we have nothing compared to THIS!

Oooohhhh, Juliet I soooooo desperately wanna see the rest of that picture now!!! Ehhhh, is there a rest .........????

Sue, thank you for posting the "hands" pic, only now have I seen Claudia's guestbucket instructions (Doh!!)

I have also realised why Kim Catrall hasn't been mentioned in connection with SC, 'cos she's appearing on-stage in Who's Life Is It Anyway in London until the end of the month.

Thanks to all for the RC reports, excellent Eve Std article, thanks again, Sue. Have to say RC's sister Sarah is the image of her mother.

AR's hands are what Barbara Cartland would have called strong and manly! They're not especially large in relation to the rest of him. Judge for yourself from this pic I took in Bowness in Oct 2003.

No no Sue it's ok - I was affraid that my Danish brain had got something wrong so I was just checking I didn't mean to embarrass you or anything!

 Sniv, had a senior moment then! Melvin, Marvin at least it began with an M!! Not having the best of mornings so that will be my excuse

Sue - you mean Marvin right?  sorry maybe it's just me being Danish and all...

Anyways thanks for all the pics and articles...

I just wanted to pop by and say that I met Judy yesterdayyyyy!  

Thanks Elaine for the MNiRC details. Fascinating to learn about the play being put on "sideways". I must admit I thought it a bit odd that the control room was to the side and not at the back as it would normally be in a theatre. It will wonderful if the play does tour the UK and States. I spent some time in the Yvonne Arnaud theatre in Guildford last night watching A Winters Tale and working out how the set would fit in there!

So Melvin only took 2 hours! See he could fit in lots of radio stuff if he tried then!LOL

I love coming to this GB!  You are all so nice and it's such a great escape.  Would you believe I've had my ABBA DVD two days and still have not gotten a chance to watch it yet?  Unfortunately, real life has gotten in the way -- big time.  I won't bore you with the details...let's just say that this has been one hell of a week and I hope there isn't another like it anytime soon. 

That being said, I just want to say,  to RickiNicki and her fantastic pictures from the premiere.  They look like they were taken by a professional!  You had such a good location...how'd you do it?

Lucy - where did you get a Marvin bobblehead?

To all those ladies who've actually gotten to shake Mr. Rickman's lovely hands, I am incredibly envious!

Natasxxx - congratulations on become an aunt!

Elaine - thanks for the report from MNiRC and the after talk.  Sounds like a wonderful experience.  Than to top it off, you got to see French and Saunders.  I'll have to tell my daughter.  She's a big Ab-Fab fan.

Dee - love the new wallpaper!  Would that be Vidal or Ed in the boat?

Off to bed, ladies....I'm exhausted. 

Found this beauty while I was "Googling".... Never saw this one before....

My email pal in Wawa just wrote that a crew member told her (unofficially) they are pulling out on Saturday. She said things were going to be awfully quiet when they are gone. It was mentioned before that their next stop is a studio on Toronto. Is anyone from that city? Is there a chance we might hear of some sightings there?

Lucy -- Don't feel bad. You're not the only one up late tonight! Maybe it's time for a late-night AR movie!

Another side-by-side by your friendly neighborhood insomniac:

Claudia, I'm glad you enjoyed the dolphin clip. It's funny. I stopped myself from writing earlier that it was the longest 3 min 22 I had ever sat through. To each her own. lol

Thanks for reviews, photos, and Marvin links. I must look into having my favorite depressed android droning from my computer.

Nice photo, Emily. I still think those should be fish as in Pisces, but they look so much like safety pins!

Belated thanks to SeverinaSnape for excellent paraphrasing of Karen Moline’s AR snippet on BBC3 Saturday April 16. The audio is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/artsdrama_promo.shtml (scroll down to "A Map of Manhattan"); the AR bit is at 19:17:29 for about 25 seconds, and here are Moline’s words: "Years after my first articles appeared in the East Village Eye, I was interviewing Alan Rickman, and he told me about the time he spent doing repertory theater when he got out of drama school.  He said something I knew was true: that he'd been allowed to fail. Working out of the limelight helped him become a better actor. He could do his work and learn far from public scrutiny and sniping critics. I moved to the East Village to do my work too...."

I saw two ARticles by Moline, from Suzanne's site
http://www.alan-rickman.com/articles/quick.html and Claire's
http://www.btinternet.com/~sc.i/suave.htm. Anyone know others?

Lucy, if you go to the Guestbook on Marvin's blog, you'll see that someone asked him a question about AR! 

UPPA photo site added this straggler from the Empire Awards. It's a nice one with a discreet watermark and a good view of the fish pattern. I don't think this exact shot has been published before.

Hey, guys, Marvin the Paranoid Android has his own blog!  Sorry, no sound clips are on the page, though.

Oh Dee!  I never knew "The Floating Studio" could be so alluring!  *grin*  Nice choice too.

Rachael!  I believe that picture is a photo manipulation. 

I've finished a new "famous painting" AR wallpaper. This is Manet's "The Floating Studio" -- although this one features a very handsome artist we all know and love! Hope you like!

I found a picture I have never seen before.  He is very good looking in it.

  Elaine! Truly Mad and Deeply Dishonest is hilarious!

We have missed you too, Elaine!!!  I'm so glad your back safe!

Wonderful reviews of both plays!!!! Thank you so much for bringing them to us.  And the interesting tidbits from the after show talk, WOW!  It sounds like he is into this up to his arm pits (and what loverly armpits he has too ;0)).  Its really is a shame that he didn't get to have his input at the after show talk but it sounds like KV made sure his voice was heard. 

The report on sighting DF and JS was sooooo fun to read!  Its a good thing I wasn't with you Elaine because I would have had to flash a MPH wristband and shake DF's hand for her Vicar New Year's special.  You would have had to deck me to shut me up!!!  LOL 

Thanks again, Elaine. And what an amazing time you had!

TnX Peek, Sue and Marlina!!!!

@Dany nice to meet you!!!

Elaine, great review (and RickyNicky of course!...sorry for the late reaction!!)....

I'm still in a rush....

And just to add this. From "Private Eye", my favourite train journey reading material. I laughed a lot at this.

Short break for refreshment!

BTW, Ricky- Nicky, I didn't have time to get to the H2G2 prem. Glad you did though. Great pics.

I'd just like to add an "anecdote" which goes to show how we Brits are usually restrained when celebs are trying to be "normal". We've talked about this before, I know. I went to see "Acorn Antiques - The Musical" last night. It was the funniest show I have ever seen and I had a thoroughly spiffing time! Julie Walters was excellent in her role of Mrs Overall. All the regulars were there too - Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston - and also Josie Laurence, Neil Morrisey. So funny, I really laughed until I cried! But before it started, I was sitting in my row in the stalls, 2 seats from the end. There were a couple of seats still unoccupied in the middle and soon, we all stood up to let the occupants pass. A blond came past, then a very large woman who had some difficulty in getting through. "Gawd," she said, "This is a tight squeeze". I looked up as she somehow manoevred her bum past me only to see it was Dawn French, preceeded by Jennifer Saunders. They took their seat eventually and seemed to enjoy the show as much as we did. There were a few "gawps" at the interval from audience members (they stayed where they were - easier I guess)  but all through the show, and from the time they got up to leave with the rest of us until they disappeared over Haymarket, no one bothered them or asked them for an autograph. Cool!

Martha and bunks - if you get to read this soon, it was great meeting you all. Hope the driving is going okay and you haven't got lost! I forgot to mention that the lady behind us who was asking a lot of questions at MNiRC is an actress that I have seen on tv and in films but don't know her name. I will keep an eye out for her. See, his theatre friends do attend!

And a smiley for the funof it (although I'm back at work in a few hours so where is the fun???)

  Mind those roundabouts, martha!

Thank you for the report, Elaine!  Taking it to the US ... ah, that's the best news I've heard in a long time.

Hi - I'm back!(Sorry for shouting but I've missed you all!)

Well, I'm whacked out with 2 days of non stop stuff. Firstly - belated congrats to Sue and "Austin". Yes, 30 years is a long time! And I do agree about AR seeming to "glide" everywhere! 

Well, a few things to add about MNiRC. Ricky-Nicky did a great job. [waves to R-N!] Yes, it was really good to meet everyone from around the world. I hope we can ALL do it one day.

The excellent article that Sue scanned more or less says what Mr & Mrs Corrie had to say, although I thought her sister should also be mentioned. I felt deeply moved by what they had to say. Megan Dodds was superb. To be able to sustain that excitement and emotion for an hour and a half was just amazing.

Just a few things I can remember about the first part of the talk. Katherine Viner made it plain that AR was the instigator of the whole thing. He read Rachel's published letters in the Guardian and rang her her to say that they should make a piece of theatre out of it. She also said that they had lots of rows! And the associate director (Tiffany double-barrelled) said that it was AR's idea to put the stage along the room and have the set as it was. (They don't normally do it that way). The set was his idea, too - artistic training kicking in! And to give you hope, Elyse Dodgson from the RC said that they were hoping to take the play to the US, and also around the UK. They were looking at ways to do that.

One thing that did not hit me until the talk, was that all the dialogue is in Rachel's own words. They did not add anything at all. I think she WAS gifted, despite what that other reviewer said. You only had to watch the video they had at the end of Rachel when she was just 10 years old, speaking out at a school thing for peace and giving help to those less fortunate in the world.

Anyway, I should take a breather for now!

Great News Peekabooh and Welcome Back Danyand Congrats to Aunti Natasxxx

I think that covers it for now

New sound clip from Marvin? "I Think You Ought to Know I'm Feeling Very Depressed" is downloadable at http://comingsoon.net/news/hitchhikersguidenews.php?id=9255

Natasxxx that's so funny! Moose..

Hello all, just drop in to say hello

Its so wonderful to see you back, Dany!  We've missed you.  Also, its been way to long since we've heard from Miriam and Laura, Italy too!  Glad to have yall back. 

Kimberly, here's the link to the event SARF posted about a while back.  We're hoping it will be open to the public especially since that will be the time kathy is in London on her experience of a lifetime!  University of the Arts

Anyone subscribe to the Starlog and Movie Magic magazines that Susan, CO posted about?  Maybe their will be some AR tidbits. *crossing fingers* 

Good luck on your book Sue J!  Hopefully, one day we can all say "We knew her when"! 

Congrats on the John Donne event arrangements, Peekabooh!

Lucy, as far as I know there is no way to capture video from a DVD ROM to the computer--unless there is something out there I'm unaware of and that is highly possible.  You will need a capture device, capture software, and a stand alone DVD player to capture the video from DVD.  

I use KWorld's Xpert DVD Maker and then either MS's Movie Maker (free) or Leadtek's VideoStudio software.  

I was never aware of the power of MS's Movie Maker until Elaine steered me in its direction.  It came with my XP upgrade and since it was a freebie, I never thought it would do the things I needed it to do.  But boy was I ever wrong!  It is a very powerful little program and free.

Hello out there,

after a long time I'm back .

It has been a long time,a lot of things changed but now I have more time o have a look in here and to post.

It was a hard time the last weeks(Claudia knows what has happend)but friends helped me through the time.

Especially with AR-DVDs ......Michael Collins and January Man .

And I met a new friend in a Harry Potter forum.She's a very big AR-fan and I know that she has a look at this page from time to time so  hello Lisa and a big hug .

Thats for now....

see ya

lots of love

Dany

@ Claudia...the new guestbook is great!!!!

Wow Auntie Natasxxx, that´s so exciting, CONGRATULATIONS.

Sue, I'm sitting here bawling over that article.  Thank you for posting it.

Great to hear, Peekabooh!! I'm sure you will have a wonderful time.

Wasn't it mentioned sometime ago that Alan would be doing an interview in June at Chelsea College? Anyone have any details on that?

First: thank u all for the pictures and scans!!!

Just wanna say: I'm gonna be an aunt again!!!!!

I'm so happy about this news.....I could screem it out.....so laud that they will  hear me in WaWa...But maybe they think that it is a Moose....

Squuueeeeee, I just purchased my John Donne ticket and made my flight-reservation!!!!

Dee, I absolutely agree with Miriam and Sue. It didn´t strike me that his hands were big, they are very well manicured that´s for sure. Though he is tall, he moves very gracefully. He also is very friendly and calm, an impressive guy!

Sue, thank you so much for the newspaper article about Rachel Corrie´s parents. It must have been such a contradiction (if that´s the correct word) to hear Rachel´s words been spoken. They are indeed very brave.

RickiNicki, thanks for the great pix, you must have got there early to snag such a good position!

Dee, hands? Hmm where do I begin? Large, soft, warm but firm is my opinionLOL! One thing I loathe in a man is a limp handshake and am delighted to report that his is not I think those of us who are lucky enough to have met him would agree is that he appears a big man but does seem to glide around in a very graceful manner!

Hi Dee,

Nice question about Alan's hands. I met him in London in December last year. He was so kind to sign my book. I could clearly see his hands but they did not appear to be very huge. I have seen pictures of him though and I thought... wow, he has beautiful hands to play the piano. What I personally liked of Alan was his friendliness, ofcourse (he has a warm and sweet smile), his modesty and the beautiful way of moving. When he came... well, you knew he was there in a positive way. My meeting with him was very brief (he seemed to be in a hurry, poor man), but unforgettable. I am very glad for those who also met him in Wawa. I hope my answer makes sense to you.

Thanks, Sue, very much for posting the Evening Standard article.

Wow! Lots of posts today! Thanks RickiNicki for the MNRC review. Sounds like such a moving experience. I hope it comes to the US! And thanks everyone for the Hitchikers updates. Can't wait to see the film!

No on has answered my rather odd question yet. Those of you who have seen AR in person: Does he have big hands? They look huge in his photos, but that could just be camera angles.

I go by Sue but seeings how we have two Sues, I'll go by Sue J.

I am writing a SciFi book and hope to have it finished by next month.

I am in a very small town and want to start working with the kids here on acting. I hope to put on some cute plays for the parents. I guess this will be a big challenge for myself to see how my patients will be.

I wonder if Alan could ever have that much patients with kids. I guess he must have a lot due to having to work so many in HP. I would give anything to go see him in person. WOW, what a hottie.

Great pics, RickiNicki!  Thanks for posting them. Looks like you were standing right up front!

I am watching the "Too Lost in You" video, and my Marvin bobblehead is moving his head in time with the music!

Can any of you wonderful video makers tell me how/if I can save a clip from a DVD to my computer with MovieMaker?  If not, then what software will work?

Thanks for the reports and the pics, RickiNicki!  I especially like the Stephen Fry pic! 

Sue: Thank you a million times over for sharing the scans of the "Rachel Corrie" reviews. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by this Rickman fan!

Well we are just so happy to have you aboard, Sue TX (or do you prefer Sue J?)!  Please come back as often as you can.  We have a really friendly group here.   

You are so right about AR's generousity towards others less fortunate than he, Sue TX.  He is involved in A LOT of organizations. Sometimes it boggles the mind to keep them straight!  LOL

RickiNicki for all the wonderful premiere pics!  I'm so glad you were able to make it!  I can just see Bill Nighy was his usual playful self!  LOL 

Thanks for the head's up on the Getty photos, Sue. 

Alan seems to always think of others and not so much on himself, which makes me look up to him even more. He is a great actor and I think the world of him. He is one of a kind! Good looking, great sexy voice, great actor and a kind gentleman. What else could you ask for ladies?

I am glad to be aboard this sight!

Lots of nice Hitchhikers Premiere pix on GettyImages

I've just came back from the H2G2 premiere. I also took some pics, but I'm going to upload these in 2 hours. No sight of Alan though! I think he's still in Canada. Mos Def and Warwick Davis haven't been there either. I took pics from almost everyone except Sam Rockwell, he didn't sign any pictures. Steven Fry made funny faces into the cameras, he seems to be kind to his fans and seems to be sympathic.

As I said I'm posting the pictures a bit later, when I'm at home.

Emily thanks for the link...

I feel so old all of a sudden ...being able to watched the premiere online!...lol

Yes! Thanks Sue.  Maybe it will have some snippets of AR for the site! 

Sue--Thank you so very much for the article with Rachel corrie's parents.  How brave, how sad.  I ache for them, the death of a child is the absolute worst.  I don't cry easily, but that brought tears to this tough old bird's eyes.  Bravo to AR, KV, MD and all else who brought this to life for them with such sensitivity.  Hope against hope it comes to the US.

Can't believe I found a free computer to kill a few minutes before my next class. 

My oldest son just told me he's changed his major from creative writing to screen writing--he took an introduction class this semester--loves it and has gotten kudos for his writing from the prof. (We already knew he had a gift )   So maybe someday HE will meet AR and I can be the proud Mama!!!

Looking forward to H2G2, then end of the school year AND my trip to England.  Can't get excited yet I'm too stressed out with the end of school papers but come May-------Whoopee!

Yes she was Emily.

Thank you Sue!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Yes, Caroline Bingley!  That's it! Was she also in "Four Weddings and a Funeral"??

Ohhhh thanks, Sue!  She was also Colin Firth's finacee in What a Girl Wants too.  Amazing how letting one's hair down can change someone's look.