Sharon Kendrick's Blog, page 23

WONDERLAND AND DEBATES

Even though I hated the recent film - I loved this window display of Alice In Wonderland, which I discovered recently while wandering around Covent Garden.


Everything in England currently feels as topsy-turvy as Wonderland - what with all the excitement being generated by our first ever LEADERS' DEBATEOne of the best things about it is watching old footage of the American equivalent. They are old hands at the sport - ever since the first live debate between Jack Kennedy and Richard Nixon...

TWO STICKS AND AN APPLE

Yesterday, I walked over Waterloo Bridge (there's a wonderful old, black and white film by the same name - check it out if you can) and went exploring before lunch. There are two beautiful churches on the Strand and here is the first.

It's ST. MARY'S LE STRAND and is the official church of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRENS). Sadly, it was locked.
Venturing on a little further - I was struck by the most amazing sound of bells and realised that they were coming from a church a little...

TO SEE THE CHERRY HUNG WITH SNOW

THE PRINCE'S CHAMBERMAID is on sale now and features the hero's older brother - King Casimiro (who is absolutely gorgeous!). A reader obviously agreed since I've just received a delightful email, saying:
Can't wait for the new book - you know, sometimes a character gets mentioned and you think "I hope the author writes their story"?
never in all the many years of reading have I felt so compelled that a character have their own story as I did with Casimiro in 'The Princes' Chambermaid'.
The...

MAGNOLIA, POLITICS AND SPRING-TIME

The magnolia is the most primitive flowering plant still living on Earth - and really quite exquisite. So here, to herald spring and to remind ourselves of natural beauty - is a photo sent all the way from Chicago - of the tree which blooms in Dan's neighbour's garden. Thanks. Dan!

Meanwhile, here in England - the General Election has been called at long last. I love it! Four weeks of wall-to-wall debating, angst, anger and passion - in what is being called the closest campaign in decades....

THE PRINCE'S CHAMBERMAID

Il pleut.Il pleut beaucoup.Never mind - it's what makes the flowers grow and the skin glow.I've just finished a book and so have been out seeking inspiration for the next one...
Saw Michelangelo's Dream which was utterly sublime.Went to see the new Alice In Wonderland, which was so atrociously bad that I walked out after half an hour. What was the matter with Johnny Depp's accent? Now I'm wondering whether 3D isn't just an excuse to fob the public off with bad acting and too much noise.And...

DIRTY DUBLIN

Occasionally, you meet people who are touched with stardust and Yvonne Fitzpatrick Grimes is one of those people.  Here I am in her deliciously-decorated sitting room (where I had to be prevented from stealing that red cushion!).
Yvonne is a great wit and dancer, she sings like an angel and provides tea and sympathy on tap in the most welcoming of homes.  She also has four amazing children, is married to the wonderful D - oh, and did I mention that she writes? Very, very well.
Her book, DIRTY...

OUT TO LUNCH

Sometimes you find great  places for lunch - and here I am in a sweet pub in Betsw-y-Coed.  
And yes, it's in Wales - because where else would you find somewhere with such an unpronouncable name?


Zoom into the meal itself - which was delicious - simple and locally sourced.  I recommend you visit Snowdonia very soon - it has some amazing restaurants as well as some of the most beautiful mountains in the world.
Any idea what meat might be lurking there?  A clue:  we sing about it at Christmas time.

CINDERELLA COMPLEX

What is it with shoes?  At the Romantic Novelists Association's 50th anniversary lunch yesterday - very few people seemed bothered by a pudding called a "Chocolate Orgasm" or the fact that the great and the good from the world of publishing were assembled there.  Not even by Barry Norman's jokes or Maeve Binchey (one of my all-time heroines) getting a lifetime achievement award.No, it was the sight of author Penny Jordan producing an outrageously high-heeled shoe which had all the women...

A LITTLE LEARNING.....

is a WONDERFUL thing.   It's like that old song says: "the more I find out, the less I know.'
In London the other day, my footsteps seemed to be taking me towards a place which seemed oddly familiar - and then I realised it was.  Golden Square where I'd once been a nurse at the Royal National Ear Nose And Throat Hospital (what a lot of capitals).  It's a very famous square - planned by Wren and featured by Charles Dickens in Nicholas Nickelby.  There is a sweet statue of GEORGE II - an...

IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE WOODS TODAY....

It looks like the place that Hansel and Gretel discovered, doesn't it? A deceptively cute, oldy-worldy cottage promising gingerbread and evil witches and a dark and scary wood.....


Actually, it's in the heart of Soho - Soho Square, to be precise - and just around the corner from the famous Groucho Club, where I was having tea. The club's name was inspired by a quip of Groucho Marx: "I don't want to join a club that will accept me as a member." Of course not.

Over carrot cake and lemon cake...