Bill Buckley and Ingrid.....

At the most unlikely hour 03.50 the other morning, having been woken by Shady ( 20 plus, K.te K. cat 'lodger' !) I was listening to Bill Buckley, wide awake presenter on LBC Radio. There was a quiz in progress, and the question was, "in which film was this the final phrase - "this could be the start of a beautiful friendship ". A caller said it was "Casablanca", to which Bill replied 'Oh yes, the one with Lauren Bacall'. At this, my sleepy brain kicked into gear - and I found myself calling the station to say that the star of the film was Ingrid Bergman, not Bacall. I asked the receptionist to tell Bill, and to my surprise she asked if I'd like to talk to him ! "Why not" said I. The lady told me to ring off and she'd call me back in a few minutes - which she did ....So, at about 03.15 I found myself having a very nice chat on live radio, with one of Britain's most stimulating hosts - would you believe ?. Anyone who knows me would... We covered several subjects, how I'd worked with Ingrid whilst Property Manager ( stage props. not real estate !) at Chichester Festival Theatre, in the 1970's; her disappointment when she saw the designs for her costumes In "The Waters of the Moon". When asked if there was a problem, she said that the play was set in the 1930's, and her character was a stage star. "I WAS a star in the 1930's, and I would never have worn anything like those designs...". So the bright young lady designer's drawings were scrapped, and a 'mature' gentleman, Finley James, (who started designing in the 1930's) , was commisioned to create new outfits - and they were gorgeous, so we had a very happy Ingrid on that count. The other concern for her was acting on a thrust stage - audience on four sides, but she soon adapted to it . At one of the first performances she managed to muddle her dialogue . Instead of saying ' Oh look, the children are throwing snowballs", it came out as "Oh look, the children are snowing throwballs !". She then collapsed in fits of laughter which 'brought the house down' - hysterics all round for several minutes...She was such a Dear, kind and generous lady - truly a legend....I've been so lucky.... Bill had said earlier in the programme that he'd had some problems removing stage makeup ealier in his career, so I mentioned that I had a similar experience with professional stage makeup remover - the perfume caused nasty eruptions on my usually unblemished skin. My Doctor recommended that I use Liquid Paraffin, a well known laxative - pardon me..? 'Just put a few drops in the palm of the hand, and when it warms up it is the most gentle makeup remover' he assured me - true enough, it is, and leaves the skin as 'soft as a baby's bottom'...mmmm. Going on tour, I decanted some L.P. into a quarter size brandy bottle, which I always placed on my dressing table in the theatre. One day a stage manager 'phoned in to say he was sick - and two days later, when he appeared, he asked me what was in that brandy bottle !! Yeeees , he'd taken a big swig of the liquid - and didn't stop running for days.....poor lad...I'm still giggling about it ....Bill has asked me to write a book of anecdotes - so I'm getting nearer to it every day ..I promise...Anna (L) will be pleased.... If you'd like to hear the 'Awesome' Anna Larsson sing in person - go to the Wigmore Hall, London, on Monday 24th. November 2008, singing a recital with Stephen Bishop, piano....a real treat to look forward to....'bye for now, k..p b.......g... and have fun...

Attitude - a la Whoopee G......what a breather.....!

Whilst living at Kiri's in Leatherhead some years ago, her daughter Toni (Antonia ) rushed in and burst out " Anna - Anna! You MUST go and see 'Sister Act', it's absolutely You ! " Hmmmm - wonder what Toni means ...? When I took her advice and went to see the film I understood exactly.... The story involves a gangster's girlfriend, played by the celebrated Whoopee Goldberg, who witnesses a murder, and the police decide to protect her by hiding her in a convent. Why not ? Where else would you hide a black lady other than in a convent full of white nuns ...? From this you'll gather, if you haven't seen the film, that it is full of high jinks, hysterical situations and some deliciously funny scenes - forbidden 'ice cream orgy', etc.. The part that Toni equated with me is where Whoopee decides to chivvy up the convent choir which is a little lack lustre to say the least, by explaining 'attitude', or 'projection' as it's usually termed in the business. One of my methods is to suggest that a taxi cannot be summoned by whispering 'taxi' in a hushed tone - "TAAAAXI" at full vocal throttle is much more effective - unless you have a tremendous whistle like Anna (Larsson) which can be heard for miles - one of her less known attributes.....This all came to mind when 'Sister Act' was shown on t.v. the other evening.....that's it for today folks, I have to go for my daily stroll and a breath of fresh air up here in the Chiltern Hills - pop over some time and join me.......mmmm, k..p b.......g....