Very sad news…we have lost a true legend as we bid farewell to an amazing talent and incredibly funny man, Robin Williams.
RIP…he will be missed by many and remembered by all.
Farewell Robin Williams…
Category: films
42nd UAE National Day…
Today is the 42nd UAE National Day…42 years ago the various individual Emirates got together and decided to unite and become the United Arab Emirates…good decision! Since then the UAE has gone from strength to strength and become a force to be reckoned with. It’s also an amazing place to call home! I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to live in this tolerant and constantly evolving society.
On a sad note, I cannot stop thinking about Paul Walker and his sudden death on Saturday in a terrible car accident.
He was only 40 and really in the prime of his life… he seems to have been a really nice , normal guy , who valued his privacy and was very involved in numerous charities. Even though I was never a major fan of the Fast and Furious movies, it has saddened me to hear of the sudden loss of someone who had so much ahead of him .
R.I.P Paul Walker.
A Feast for the Senses…
I finally got to see this film this weekend…..
It was absolutely spectacular…the music, the fashion, the decor, the jewelry, the scenery…I was blown away and I felt like the minute it was over, I could have watched it again to see what I had missed the first time.
Baz Lurhman does an incredible job of blending the 1920’s style and atmosphere with really modern music which makes the whole story very up to date and fresh…
The decor was divine…from the ” old money” taste of the Buchanan mansion to the over the top excess of the Gatsby mansion, the houses and rooms were all characters which played their own part in this amazing movie. Even Nick Carraway’s cottage played its own unique part in the story and the scene where Daisy visits for tea is just exquisite ,with the room filled with orchids by Gatsby…who eagerly awaits her arrival.
The fashion…don’t even get me started on the fashions! The men were all very groomed and beautifully dressed of course, but it was the women who really shone…literally..in Tiffany jewels and the most exquisite dresses I have ever seen…the softly textured and coloured fabrics were covered in sequins, feathers and crystals and moved beautifully as the actresses moved.
Each scene was a delight to see, even the darker scenes, which offered a contrast to all the sparkle and glitter. I have read that there have been a lot of negative reviews for the film…perhaps it will not be viewed as a masterpiece of film making from a critics point of view, but from a sheer entertainment point of view, Baz Lurhman in my humble opinion, has nailed it! I was entertained from start to finish and was taken on a glittering , sparkling journey into a make believe world, and is that not why we go to the movies in the first place?
For more glamour and glitz, check out the official site here:
Goodbye to the Iron Lady…
I was saddened to hear about the death of Margaret Thatcher yesterday….I lived in England for just over a year when she was prime minister, and while I was certainly not interested in the politics of the day, I couldn’t help but be impressed at Mrs Thatcher’s achievements…mostly the fact that she was a woman in a position of power! My inner Feminist was overjoyed in fact!
I don’t think I really understood the turmoil which the UK went through during her years of office and it was only when I saw the amazing film”The Iron Lady”that I fully realised what had really gone on.
What has saddened me even more was seeing the people who actually rejoiced in her death…I find that kind of behaviour extreme and strange…despite what your political views were (or are) can people not step back and admire her for her role in the history of Britain, without denigrating her in death? I think it is in very bad taste…. she was a human being and as such surely deserves respect in death. To celebrate her death with bottles of champagne is just horrible….
Farewell Iron Lady.
Quartet…..
We saw this movie last night….
I can highly recommend it to anyone who has not yet seen it, particularly in Dubai, because it is a stylish and gentle film and those do not stay on the circuit for long here!
The exterior”house” scenes (and I assume some of the interior scenes) were filmed at Hedsor House in Buckinghamshire, which is actually a venue for events such as weddings, photo shoots etc.
The countryside is just wonderful and even the interior of the “retirement home” is beautifully decorated with lovely fabrics and in particular, a wallpaper I am now obsessed with!
And this is the wallpaper I just loved….
It is by Zoffany and is exquisite….a lovely pattern in soft and muted tones and as you can see, in the image above from the film, it was applied in panels…classic and so suited to the overall feel of the film! The flowers in each room were also wonderful….I would be very happy to spend my golden years in an environment like that, I can tell you!!
Of course the cast was stellar, with Maggie Smith displaying her incredible talent by conveying a remote, haughty and dismissive diva, with a certain vulnerability….the humour was witty and sophisticated and the best part…the film was only about an hour and forty minutes, which left us feeling like we wanted more!
A Decorator's Notebook 