tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-774834715155093562024-03-05T18:29:11.605-08:00Barbara Taylor BradfordThoughts from a bestselling author on everything from books to Britain to the news of the day.Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-83950497037413044802016-04-27T09:35:00.001-07:002016-04-27T09:37:16.921-07:00On the Meaning & History of Black Irish<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFQeXJhC0rwSo8sESgfC2n0MvmmK4X9sc0WV65H9YasYLy4CDOIvdWTpn_gMURnOyiQXea7FseGZIS4NDqA7jUShCRZ2vRhSjN6SVjjVkq9WPqGEYym4uygxwV-ETE33ww1P98kle0OkO/s1600/Liam+Neeson+%2528Blackie%2529+with+babies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFQeXJhC0rwSo8sESgfC2n0MvmmK4X9sc0WV65H9YasYLy4CDOIvdWTpn_gMURnOyiQXea7FseGZIS4NDqA7jUShCRZ2vRhSjN6SVjjVkq9WPqGEYym4uygxwV-ETE33ww1P98kle0OkO/s320/Liam+Neeson+%2528Blackie%2529+with+babies.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liam Neeson as Blackie O'Neill</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Here’s one of my secrets about <i>The Cavendon Luck</i>. Everybody’s favorite fellow, Blackie O’Neill,
makes a brief cameo alongside Emma Harte in the story. Many fans have asked me
what the term “Black Irish” actually means. Here is the answer many of you have
been waiting for…</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> “Black Irish.” It is a term has been used for centuries to
describe the Irish who descended from the Spanish sailors and soldiers who
survived the debacle of the Spanish Armada.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> The huge
fleet of ships had floated into the Irish Sea, and many had foundered off the
coast of Ireland. It was the lucky ones who made it to the shore; many drowned.
Those who survived stayed on in the Emerald Isle. They married the beautiful
Irish women, had children, and their children had children and so on. The
physical features that everyone remarked on were their good looks, black hair
and warm black or brown eyes. Although I personally know several Black Irish
women with deep blue eyes. And that’s how the phrase Black Irish came about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Many Spanish
names also lived on, and one that comes to mind is the first president of the
Irish Republic, Eamon De Valera, who went into office in 1959.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> If you don’t
know much about English history you must be wondering what those Spanish ships
were doing in the Irish Sea. Here’s a little history lesson: <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">HISTORICAL FACTS<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> In 1588,
King Philip of Span sent a great fleet of war ships, known thereafter as the
Spanish Armada, to invade England. Philip, former brother-in-law of the great
Tudor Queen, Elizabeth I, was enraged with her. He believed she was involved in
the politics of the Spanish Netherlands, and in “privateering” on the Spanish
Main, the coastal region of Spanish America in the 16<sup>th</sup> and 17<sup>th</sup>
centuries which Spanish ships constantly used. Many of these ships were
attacked and boarded by so-called “pirates.” Gold, other treasure and cargo was
stolen. Philip was convinced that two of the Queen’s favorite sea captains,
Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh, were prime suspects. She always cleverly
duplicitous, denied this and informed Philip she would have them hung, drawn
and quartered if the king’s accusations proved to be true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> However, she
never did anything to chastise them; actually they were both given knighthoods
eventually. Why? Because they were doing her bidding. She made England rich on
Spanish spoils.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> As the
Spanish Armada sailed toward England in that fateful August, the Tudor Queen
had her own great navy waiting of them.; she also had thousands of land forces
on the ready for the invasion of England. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Elizabeth
went to Tilbury in Essex, to review her troops, accompanied by Robert Dudley,
the Earl of Leicester. He was her childhood friend, the only man she had ever
truly loved, and one of her three loyal advisors since she ascended to the
throne. She had made him her Lieutenant General, and he was in charge of the
army, her commander-in-chief in actuality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> It was on
August the 9<sup>th</sup> 1588 that Elizabeth made an inspiring speech to her
troops, and it is certainly one of my favorites. On the day of the speech, the
queen left her bodyguard at the fort of Tilbury, and went out amongst her
soldier subjects with a small escort only: Lord Ormonde walked ahead, carrying
the Sword of State. He was followed by a young page leading the Queen’s
charger; a second page carried a cushion with her silver helmet placed on it,
and the queen was behind them, regal and as charismatic as always. She was
dressed entirely in white, wore a silver breastplate, and was mounted on a grey
gelding. Next to her rode her Lieutenant General, Robert Dudley. On her other
side, also mounted, was the Earl of Essex, her Master of the Horse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Here is the
middle part of her speech to her soldiers, which I love the most, and it has
gone down in history as truly memorable:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> “I know I
have the body of a weak, feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a
king, and a king of England too, and think foul scorn that <u>Parma</u> or <u>Spain</u>,
or any Prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to
which rather than dishonor shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I
myself will be your general, judge and rewarder of every one of your virtues in
the field.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> The two
fleets did do battle. The English lost ships and so did the Spanish, who
hastily retreated. Later they attacked the English fleet again, but by a
strange twist of fate, the weather changed. A fierce wind blew up and pushed
the Armada of its course and sent it into the Irish Sea, where most of the
ships smashed against the rocky shoreline. Some of the Spaniards drowned, but
others were rescued and remained in Ireland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> English
sailors insisted that God was on the side of their great Queen and had intervened
on her behalf.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Cavendon Luck by Barbara Taylor Bradford will be published in North America on June 7th and on June 16th in the UK. Pre-Order your copy today.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UK Edition Of The Cavendon Luck</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGoYuyj9K9LmF_HijOeAyRnb1ONAHoD8C_QSc0WDJ2mdlMkn1mHYtOl5VHw98HTt-BUHhsBK7qr3zMVpg2doOPvizq8zNPu-gElvk23xUfkj9GnBZDQHi9afD58kItBEuuBd0G5M1-P-1b/s1600/7_30_CavendonWomen+SMP+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGoYuyj9K9LmF_HijOeAyRnb1ONAHoD8C_QSc0WDJ2mdlMkn1mHYtOl5VHw98HTt-BUHhsBK7qr3zMVpg2doOPvizq8zNPu-gElvk23xUfkj9GnBZDQHi9afD58kItBEuuBd0G5M1-P-1b/s320/7_30_CavendonWomen+SMP+Cover.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">US Edition of The Cavendon Luck</td></tr>
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Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-39510689624643248642015-06-03T07:36:00.002-07:002015-06-03T07:36:38.803-07:00Our Girls Immortalized On Canvas<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXC2AXLDrQOpHa58utjRgOVXNhwWyHFYwV6KAeWv0PvJZvAf99NZIiHlgO46aHIBYCC_e6Byc0n97t1GaDwam21y-XIXc11SZwv8jRS8mwn4iZfriWtJ6VHgnWJRKKcQbvk9k-jxwhPVB/s1600/Christine+Merril+Painting+Of+Beaji+and+Chammi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXC2AXLDrQOpHa58utjRgOVXNhwWyHFYwV6KAeWv0PvJZvAf99NZIiHlgO46aHIBYCC_e6Byc0n97t1GaDwam21y-XIXc11SZwv8jRS8mwn4iZfriWtJ6VHgnWJRKKcQbvk9k-jxwhPVB/s400/Christine+Merril+Painting+Of+Beaji+and+Chammi.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting of Beaji & Chammi by Christine Merrill<br /></td></tr>
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Finally it arrived last Friday! The long-awaited painting of Beaji and Chammi Bradford by Christine Merrill. In our opinion, Christine is the finest painter of animal pets in the world. There is no one like her, and her work is superb. She is meticulous, and her subjects come alive on canvas in the most amazing way.<br />
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Our two little Bichon Frises look absolutely gorgeous and so lifelike, they seem about to jump out of the frame and into our laps. The painting took almost a year but it was certainly worth waiting for. Both girls are now in Doggie Heaven, and Christine painted them from a photograph of them sitting near daffodils in the garden of our former country home in Connecticut.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OS7bZCVH-x3fVlBw8K_j58KnO54hegIOimRJtF8xK20PK0M-wjCZsZS9rk5AEiAHz_xpFw1-Ul-bP05UNjQuF-boNr_bmRVpkHig8WwQfZR9B7LvJ-6qJfuTZptCF0cIhk9HH1cNng8S/s1600/Beaji+and+Chammi+with+trunk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OS7bZCVH-x3fVlBw8K_j58KnO54hegIOimRJtF8xK20PK0M-wjCZsZS9rk5AEiAHz_xpFw1-Ul-bP05UNjQuF-boNr_bmRVpkHig8WwQfZR9B7LvJ-6qJfuTZptCF0cIhk9HH1cNng8S/s320/Beaji+and+Chammi+with+trunk.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
What is so beautiful and unique about all of Christine's animal paintings is the background she creates. When she painted Gemmy, our first Bichon Frise, she placed her in a formal English park somewhat reminiscent of of Gainsborough or Constable painting. And she did this again for the Beaji and Chammi portrait.<br />
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The painting arrived during Bob's birthday week, and it now hangs in his den. Wherever he is in the room, their big black eyes seem to follow him everywhere. What an achievement, and we salute and thank this fabulous artist. We were so excited when the painting was brought to us by Bill Secord, of the William Secord Gallery, we could hardly contain ourselves. And of course we had tears in our eyes because we have this fantastic image of our girls to look at every day.Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-29151634649709716902015-04-14T10:05:00.002-07:002015-04-16T12:44:28.877-07:00Women Of Substance in Houston, Texas - April 8, 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkeLvMLUM0Sj26vY-HvA036B0IatRaY5-uPBWvb7exDO0hPBxJXajvWIWe4x-IJx6_1lXFABcCTBv3dCbswfk3ymIBv3Woagy_QJrqYzffVjis_Zww4yWdPXOTDd1qc76G9VfhbH89H1Y/s1600/IMG_0288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkeLvMLUM0Sj26vY-HvA036B0IatRaY5-uPBWvb7exDO0hPBxJXajvWIWe4x-IJx6_1lXFABcCTBv3dCbswfk3ymIBv3Woagy_QJrqYzffVjis_Zww4yWdPXOTDd1qc76G9VfhbH89H1Y/s1600/IMG_0288.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a>Former First Lady, Barbara Bush met up with Bob and I in Houston, Texas for a private visit before I was honored at a charity event.</div>
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We chatted with Mrs. Bush, who had come to the event early to see us. She arrived with her son Neil and his wife, Maria. We have been friends with Mrs. Bush since she was the First Lady in Washington.</div>
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The three of us share a deep interest in literacy, and I have worked with Mrs. Bush on her Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy in the past.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTv3tyvFV7GHysyGtC7gQXNU4Dd-bIBaLTF2dYlmyqPhIONCw_z9aEJykbQYzuLkc0havrxcHPclbHYES6ECxFfJCDdJBaqGP_DdpG0dnqV39DkfObvd1J8O5zEcLfbo2yOXF7qGmrjuZ5/s1600/Event+Invitation.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTv3tyvFV7GHysyGtC7gQXNU4Dd-bIBaLTF2dYlmyqPhIONCw_z9aEJykbQYzuLkc0havrxcHPclbHYES6ECxFfJCDdJBaqGP_DdpG0dnqV39DkfObvd1J8O5zEcLfbo2yOXF7qGmrjuZ5/s1600/Event+Invitation.png" height="400" width="130" /></a>The event in Houston was to benefit The Women's Home, which helps women in distress in Houston. I was pleased to be honored alongside the Honorable Joanne King Herring at an English Tea at the Four Seasons hotel. We were interviewed on stage by Ernie Manouse of PBS Houston, who is the host of the popular TV show, Manor Of Speaking.<br />
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I told the audience that Barbara Bush is an icon, and the woman I most admire in the world.</div>
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Our very special thanks to our dear friend, Paul-David Van-Atta for all his amazing efforts to put this event together over the past couple of months. He did a truly remarkable job.</div>
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Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-36542777494001979922015-02-12T07:18:00.001-08:002015-02-12T07:18:21.829-08:00SEVEN Surprising Things You Didn't Know About Me - A Daily Mail Feature<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="mol-style-bold"><span class="mol-style-large femail-ccox" style="color: #c562a5;"><b><u>I spurned the love of Peter O’Toole</u></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="mol-style-bold"><span class="mol-style-large femail-ccox" style="color: #c562a5;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Barbara Taylor Bradford</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Novelist</span></div>
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<img alt="Barbara Taylor Bradford, novelist" class="blkBorder img-share" height="459" id="i-dbb36a653d80119d" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/02/12/185A1192000005DC-2949992-image-a-49_1423699547042.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="306" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-3" style="margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
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Barbara Taylor Bradford, novelist</div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span class="mol-style-bold">1.</span> I only have one number in my mobile phone — my husband Bob’s! I only use my mobile out during the day and the only person who I ever need to contact is Bob. There is no need for anyone else to know where I am. I’m not interested in putting hundreds of contacts into my mobile as most social calls are done in the comfort of my own home on my landline.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span class="mol-style-bold">2.</span> As a fledgling reporter on the Yorkshire Evening Post I was constantly dodging another reporter on the Yorkshire Evening News, who was forever chasing me and asking me out. I wasn’t interested, but some years later I saw him again — starring in Lawrence of Arabia. Peter O’Toole hadn’t looked like that back in Leeds, although he’d had those great blue eyes. That night at the cinema, looking up at the screen, I wondered why I had spurned him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span class="mol-style-bold">3.</span> I’m a secret interior designer and love creating rooms. I have even decorated homes for friends — for free! Few people know I wrote four books on decorating before becoming a novelist. I even had a syndicated design column in 200 newspapers in the U.S.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span class="mol-style-bold">4. </span>I have almost total recall and a prodigious memory. My husband warns people not to tell me something that they might want me to forget later, because I won’t. I can still quote back to him the first words he ever said to me 51 years ago: ‘Jeanne sends her love.’ Jeanne was a mutual friend who had suggested we meet as she thought we would hit it off — and we did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span class="mol-style-bold">5.</span> I have a fear of water and will only swim in a pool where my feet can touch the bottom. I think it’s due to almost drowning when I was two years old.</span></div>
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Barbara spurned the advances of a young Peter O’Toole (pictured in Lawrence of Arabia) while they were both working at the Yorkshire Evening Post</div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">My aunt and uncle had taken me for a day out to the River Nidd near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. While my aunt was knitting and my uncle was fishing further down the bank, they lost sight of me. When they finally found me it was with my head popping up and down, drowning in the river. By the time they reached me the hem of my white dress had caught on a tree — saving my life. On returning home, they confessed to my parents and my mother never let them take me out again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span class="mol-style-bold">6.</span> While I have some fabulous jewellery from my husband, two of my favourite bracelets were given to me by Joan Rivers, who was a great friend of mine for 20 years. They were from the collection she designed for the QVC shopping channel and made of turquoise enamel banded in gold. At one particular dinner, Joan was admiring my jewellery and said it was too valuable to wear on holiday. Two days later, two shopping bags arrived full of earrings, bracelets and a watch. In private, Joan was genteel, decorous, elegant and never vulgar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span class="mol-style-bold">7.</span> I got my skincare routine from my friend, the late Evelyn Lauder — who was the daughter-in-law of Estee Lauder and helped develop the company’s skin care and make-up, including coming up with the Clinique brand. While her business was selling products, her big tip was ‘don’t use one cream all the time’ as your skin gets used to it. I’ve taken that advice since and my dermatologist recently remarked that I had one of the most fabulous skins she had ever seen, which made my day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Barbara Taylor Bradford’s The Cavendon Women is out March 24, 2015 (HarperCollins £16.99).</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><br /><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2949992/SEVEN-surprising-things-didnt-know-Thats-people-asked-reveal-new-internet-craze-answers-jaw-dropping.html#ixzz3RXnRC1hx" style="color: #003399; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2949992/SEVEN-surprising-things-didnt-know-Thats-people-asked-reveal-new-internet-craze-answers-jaw-dropping.html#ixzz3RXnRC1hx</a><br />Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=MailOnline" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@MailOnline on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=DailyMail" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">DailyMail on Facebook</a></span>Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-14370708779515885502014-10-29T08:30:00.000-07:002014-10-29T08:30:41.815-07:00EDDIE REDMAYNE'S PERFORMANCE IS HEART-STOPPING<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actor Eddie Redmayne</td></tr>
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Eddie Redmayne's performance in <u>The Theory Of Everything</u> is not only brilliant but so shockingly perfect it is beyond belief.</div>
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Two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs, not only one of each, and every other award given for acting, should go to this extraordinary actor, who plays Stephen Hawking, the world's greatest physicist, in his new movie.</div>
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My husband, Bob and I went to a private screening in New York on Monday night, and were actually unable to speak when the film ended. The silence in the theater was so intense it was a palpable thing... until the applause started. It was obvious the rest of the audience had reacted in the same way. Everyone was overwhelmed.</div>
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We walked out into the lobby stunned by our emotional reaction to Redmayne's acting, barely able to say a word to each other. My throat had closed and I was choked up with feelings. Bob felt the same. We walked down the street in a kind of daze. Then I began to cry. We were both in awe of the actor.</div>
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Eddie Redmayne brings acting genius to this difficult role. He becomes Stephen Hawking, and it is the performance of a lifetime. Hawking, a brilliant student at Cambridge, was struck down by motor-neuron disease at twenty-three. With the help of his fiance Jane, who married him, he somehow managed to meet the challenge and overcome it. He became a professor at Cambridge, and the world's foremost physicist who has endeavored to explain the universe to us. One of his books, <u>A Brief History Of Time</u>, has sold ten million copies.</div>
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The extraordinary thing about Redmayne is that in the film he goes from playing Stephen as a handsome student to a crippled man with twisted limbs and a contorted face.</div>
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It is a miracle of acting of the highest order, and from the very beginning of this beautifully-made film we believed that Eddie was Stephen. </div>
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This is one of those MUST SEE films. Don't miss it. Eddie Redmayne is heart-stopping.</div>
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<i>The Theory Of Everything opens November 7th in North America, and on January 2nd in the UK.</i></div>
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View the movie trailer here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Salz7uGp72c">The Theory Of Everything - Movie Trailer</a></div>
Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-64647549535673492442014-09-24T12:29:00.000-07:002014-09-24T13:18:25.443-07:00Publishing Update - Autumn 2014<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeIm5CLRQjW1evBDc9FgKmel8iswWjZTW5vQg1h8UGA3sOip3uY3lVhFNekN6ALj49QcI90r-B7q2w4wlsEGz4_WJ47kfcMkeg8hHnKdfS17j9FtFJh1_AkFZSm6Ydxe4H0y1OIIcXPG_/s1600/BTB+98+CT+Desk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeIm5CLRQjW1evBDc9FgKmel8iswWjZTW5vQg1h8UGA3sOip3uY3lVhFNekN6ALj49QcI90r-B7q2w4wlsEGz4_WJ47kfcMkeg8hHnKdfS17j9FtFJh1_AkFZSm6Ydxe4H0y1OIIcXPG_/s1600/BTB+98+CT+Desk.JPG" height="259" width="320" /></a><br />
As we enter the season of celebrations, and in response to your many queries, I've decided to update you on my publishing program.<br />
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I begin with <b>eBooks</b>...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8QPPmypQqhm3t4xsJ6XmKSDf-PkU-uJZl8WxGCI3UQyBGVQUxFp7znqL2yRKCMfYPHHgBoMgrwiDnWvENoP4qWr-_CEy0AYxGCC50T0kwM0pCME2XaoVoKUyaTA0GShe7lNvjYok822E/s1600/Hidden+UK+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CHpFoBW7clkV-BAi3EghtkIcbei2AubtXGntKKVhIBCMCidmUpN9mDTDQKlSmp81knvgpGECw1U2ZyaO4szFYVTFIy4FfF1fsj5lQdiCl35n23F7fgOeNsD765wRJrU9ZqgmqQ-95mgY/s1600/Treacherous+UK+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CHpFoBW7clkV-BAi3EghtkIcbei2AubtXGntKKVhIBCMCidmUpN9mDTDQKlSmp81knvgpGECw1U2ZyaO4szFYVTFIy4FfF1fsj5lQdiCl35n23F7fgOeNsD765wRJrU9ZqgmqQ-95mgY/s1600/Treacherous+UK+Cover.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8QPPmypQqhm3t4xsJ6XmKSDf-PkU-uJZl8WxGCI3UQyBGVQUxFp7znqL2yRKCMfYPHHgBoMgrwiDnWvENoP4qWr-_CEy0AYxGCC50T0kwM0pCME2XaoVoKUyaTA0GShe7lNvjYok822E/s1600/Hidden+UK+Cover.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></div>
1) <b>HIDDEN</b> has been a # 1 eBook bestseller in the UK for more than six months, and is still top-ten in North America. This is my debut novella (short story), and it is currently being prepared as a 2-hour TV movie. <br />
<u>An Amazon exclusive.</u><br />
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2) <b>TREACHEROUS</b> (eBook Novella) has just been released as an Amazon exclusive. It has been # 1 in the UK, and it has just hit the top 15 in North America -- climbing fast. I highly recommend it. This short-story will also be produced as a TV "movie-of-the week."<br />
<u>An Amazon exclusive.</u><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UK Paperback Jacket</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">US Hardcover Edition</td></tr>
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3) Most importantly, don't miss my latest bestselling full-length novel, <b>CAVENDON HALL</b>, which has created great excitement in North America and Europe. I am presently finishing "THE CAVENDON WOMEN," and will be delivering it to my publishers on both sides of the Atlantic later this month.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UK Hardcover Jacket</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-8U_-iBJw1rQu4_2bYWhPKzvM0GdXCDSYiHJhyphenhyphen-yBEbwmO7TbB16D9ylB2MusDG8dsPM3BOU2iJw3To2UT3zuISJOk9guLhGpOFyfBWyof5UhXPLG_6FahXR-4liaQjTmx5pomC0xgRg/s1600/SMP+Cover+CavendonWomen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-8U_-iBJw1rQu4_2bYWhPKzvM0GdXCDSYiHJhyphenhyphen-yBEbwmO7TbB16D9ylB2MusDG8dsPM3BOU2iJw3To2UT3zuISJOk9guLhGpOFyfBWyof5UhXPLG_6FahXR-4liaQjTmx5pomC0xgRg/s1600/SMP+Cover+CavendonWomen.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></td></tr>
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Incidentally, "Cavendon" has a good chance of being developed as a continuing TV series in the near future.</div>
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4) Finally, the first 3 books in the "A Woman Of Substance" series is now being published for the first time as eBooks by RosettaBooks in North America for Kindle readers. The complete series is also available in the UK from HarperCollins.<br />
<b>A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE </b>currently holds down the # 1 spot on the Amazon.com "Big Deals" bestseller list.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0pNGpw62IIr9W3n_hyphenhyphenNB-LMezjpYdqwdBt5kKUp0skv3X6G9BRXbqRtLr0M_JPwF7rI2cWYWRiUc_MewrNBD3SaUp2S_5QiJZXcMdTW4bw1CxZPPEoPq23XWvPFSffFiKTNU2-sd84Ye/s1600/BTB_creative-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0pNGpw62IIr9W3n_hyphenhyphenNB-LMezjpYdqwdBt5kKUp0skv3X6G9BRXbqRtLr0M_JPwF7rI2cWYWRiUc_MewrNBD3SaUp2S_5QiJZXcMdTW4bw1CxZPPEoPq23XWvPFSffFiKTNU2-sd84Ye/s1600/BTB_creative-2.png" height="146" width="400" /></a></div>
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-MhQ9wbyBALE%2FVCLyaNK6RrI%2FAAAAAAAAAK8%2F6MkzVtpOnyU%2Fs1600%2FHidden%252BUK%252BCover.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8QPPmypQqhm3t4xsJ6XmKSDf-PkU-uJZl8WxGCI3UQyBGVQUxFp7znqL2yRKCMfYPHHgBoMgrwiDnWvENoP4qWr-_CEy0AYxGCC50T0kwM0pCME2XaoVoKUyaTA0GShe7lNvjYok822E/s1600/Hidden+UK+Cover.jpg" -->Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-43967788732745001722014-06-24T07:15:00.001-07:002014-06-24T07:15:30.569-07:00Summer 2014 Update & My New eBook Novella<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Just a quick note to say sorry for not updating my blog of late.
I’m juggling lots of exciting things at the moment and wish there were
more hours in the day! Bob and I have just moved into our new apartment
in New York City and we are all now beginning to get settled in. Moving
is a mammoth task as any of you will know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">I’m also delighted to say that I've got a new eBook which is about to be
published in August called </span><u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Treacherous</u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">.
It’s a novella I wrote earlier this year and perfect to read as you head
on your holidays this summer. My publicist emailed me as she had an
advanced copy and said she read the book in one sitting and loved the
characters and exciting story. I hope you will too! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">I’m also deep into writing <u>Cavendon Women,</u> the sequel to <u>Cavendon Hall</u>. This will be
published in early 2015.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Pt_MondKmWJXEoRaF1BGaVS-mKQrE3tLu4pJBdUsBw40FnadB6hn89ccWJo0eHBs0eafrV76rFvni8Xib4xLvxbWp4Xj8eDgWp6QRbpPLMeAc67VfLB_xfKRUUFIgxBE6Ek_JuAT9lrT/s1600/Treacherous+UK+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Pt_MondKmWJXEoRaF1BGaVS-mKQrE3tLu4pJBdUsBw40FnadB6hn89ccWJo0eHBs0eafrV76rFvni8Xib4xLvxbWp4Xj8eDgWp6QRbpPLMeAc67VfLB_xfKRUUFIgxBE6Ek_JuAT9lrT/s1600/Treacherous+UK+Cover.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Treacherous -- My New eBook Novella</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">I must get back to my desk now, but will post more once I've finished
writing the new book. I'ts my thirtieth. In the meantime, I do hope you enjoy Treacherous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Wishing you all a great summer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Barbara Taylor Bradford</span></i><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-46055873015318839702014-06-06T10:31:00.002-07:002014-06-06T10:31:51.141-07:00Cavendon Hall Cocktail Party Hosted By Vanessa Noel - June 5th, 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YTUf5MKueYbiuPg5rb8UqslmID_HE3LMGyJ-_frJfobSYaB9hP7oWfDJhyphenhyphenFxEQr2ebtU3lXN1sVBC3LUjzVwNj4bVtZNgZsIjnbOFvErf8SYuhfIOxxaOSZNnx6eym4WhlcX0arLI1N6/s1600/June+5th+Book+Party+Invite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YTUf5MKueYbiuPg5rb8UqslmID_HE3LMGyJ-_frJfobSYaB9hP7oWfDJhyphenhyphenFxEQr2ebtU3lXN1sVBC3LUjzVwNj4bVtZNgZsIjnbOFvErf8SYuhfIOxxaOSZNnx6eym4WhlcX0arLI1N6/s1600/June+5th+Book+Party+Invite.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></div>
Renowned women's shoe designer, Vanessa Noel last night gave a cocktail reception in my honor, and to celebrate the success of CAVENDON HALL. The party was attended by some 300 well-known New Yorkers, toasting my new novel, and the announcement from London yesterday that my eBook novella, HIDDEN, has returned to # 1 position on the Amazon charts.<br />
<br />
Among the applauding guests was Arthur Klebanoff, the President of Rosetta Books, who publishes my <i>Woman Of Substance </i>series in e-book format. The Emma Harte series seems to meet the same success as the above-mentioned HIDDEN.<br />
<br />
The gathering seemed delighted to hear that <i>The Cavendon Women, the</i> sequel to <i>Cavendon Hall,</i> will soon be published in England and in North America.<br />
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What a great evening it was.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7hcURUdmPIhmNid35aCrRg26AhCW8S5NjcccbdqRyobknP_vLRPC-KWI_rEKOFIbXNjlj7VAFMdk0gLUB5ViUNAuYsLMFRe4cD5iX6EIlymYWqXvDwtGGskPau02W28MP67MX_m5W6J3/s1600/Cavendon+Hall+Book+Pile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7hcURUdmPIhmNid35aCrRg26AhCW8S5NjcccbdqRyobknP_vLRPC-KWI_rEKOFIbXNjlj7VAFMdk0gLUB5ViUNAuYsLMFRe4cD5iX6EIlymYWqXvDwtGGskPau02W28MP67MX_m5W6J3/s1600/Cavendon+Hall+Book+Pile.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_uYjWaEQtoqK_764hAagZaf9t7_Ankv4CDEa1o628KVM8KuhnI__C_hTxRvPGCljM4TIZtygFovdfkC-FiKYQOEAP6WwfU5p7RESSoD-FwHvnI3evUQ0AXLCalhe4wMvyMceCUsYZTwwm/s1600/Cavendon+Hall_SMP+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_uYjWaEQtoqK_764hAagZaf9t7_Ankv4CDEa1o628KVM8KuhnI__C_hTxRvPGCljM4TIZtygFovdfkC-FiKYQOEAP6WwfU5p7RESSoD-FwHvnI3evUQ0AXLCalhe4wMvyMceCUsYZTwwm/s1600/Cavendon+Hall_SMP+Cover.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hT2dtEApMlSNwG3Y2EgEBmrTDVbSVyflrXnUrigaNJr_pzDYA67Kj_gtBhOH85OwxRBQjG8R9_4FtagdyZ7ZjkuTh6fm9VfDRTIGRNI4RmrgPmB8r-348NrlTq36Qmk47qzUq1xKas1k/s1600/BTB+&+Max+Tucci+at+Vanessa+Noel+Party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hT2dtEApMlSNwG3Y2EgEBmrTDVbSVyflrXnUrigaNJr_pzDYA67Kj_gtBhOH85OwxRBQjG8R9_4FtagdyZ7ZjkuTh6fm9VfDRTIGRNI4RmrgPmB8r-348NrlTq36Qmk47qzUq1xKas1k/s1600/BTB+&+Max+Tucci+at+Vanessa+Noel+Party.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's me with L.A. Talk Radio Host Max Tucci, who was<br />instrumental in organizing this book party. </td></tr>
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<br />Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com63tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-47784041922425238602013-12-13T09:04:00.002-08:002013-12-13T09:04:54.113-08:00Happy Holidays From Barbara Taylor Bradford & Robert Bradford<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRjUlrZvZL5e07cJsOPMsbOoZcjJkivvFfWbbgyibTTmBzdb2Uce-wp8BUvHXtuUn3SMSviPkCFkdLwkhzcJJ7ZqZYFn9yxxJZIpfVgrufP5lMwsmeEPif34AkVBF8z75KccVPsemT9Fd/s1600/Holiday+Greeting+2013+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRjUlrZvZL5e07cJsOPMsbOoZcjJkivvFfWbbgyibTTmBzdb2Uce-wp8BUvHXtuUn3SMSviPkCFkdLwkhzcJJ7ZqZYFn9yxxJZIpfVgrufP5lMwsmeEPif34AkVBF8z75KccVPsemT9Fd/s640/Holiday+Greeting+2013+copy.jpg" width="456" /></a></div>
<br />Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-13171049597012793092013-10-04T07:14:00.001-07:002013-10-04T07:14:55.415-07:00Do you know a Literacy Hero? <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><img height="200" src="http://www.stationeryshow.co.uk/2013/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/National-Literacy-Trust-logo.png" width="200" /><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I’m
supporting the National Literacy Trust’s search for Literacy Heroes and believe
it’s important to inspire and give confidence to the next generation to develop
their literacy skills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">New
National Literacy Trust research out today shows that more children are
embarrassed to be seen reading and that they’re reading less regularly than
ever before. See </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/media"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">www.literacytrust.org.uk/media</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Anyone
can be a Hero. A young person or adult who’s overcome challenges; an author
who’s inspired people to read; a teacher or librarian; a volunteer in your
local community; or even a celebrity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">My
Literacy hero is: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIgbBIrWSLGe1JDq60deLEFqX6d3A69abZF5VVusA9DbBdJYSi0OoAaZyFMM3L6ac3QVrbYLuRP4158kbt5dBglSEWo0hg6yjRKxW_NeMRKBMp8MktiYOcEIQzWcILftoOvv96TA55DHss/s1600/BTB+age+3+with+her+mother,+Freda+Taylor+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIgbBIrWSLGe1JDq60deLEFqX6d3A69abZF5VVusA9DbBdJYSi0OoAaZyFMM3L6ac3QVrbYLuRP4158kbt5dBglSEWo0hg6yjRKxW_NeMRKBMp8MktiYOcEIQzWcILftoOvv96TA55DHss/s320/BTB+age+3+with+her+mother,+Freda+Taylor+2.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freda Taylor & Barbara Taylor (Age 3)</td></tr>
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<div style="line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">My mother, Freda Taylor<br /></span></i></b></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">My mother is my literary hero. She had a great love
of books, and because of her, so do I. When I was small she taught me to read,
and when I first went to nursery, I was the only child in the class who could
do that. I was four and a half years old. She soon got me a library card at our
local public library. I was five, or six at the time. Books became part of my
life as a little girl. And they still are today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">She helped me to tackle the classics, and by the
time I was twelve I had read most of Charles Dickens’ books and those by
Charlotte, Emily and Ann Bronte. As a special treat, she would often take me to
the Parsonage in Haworth where the sisters grew up. I was fascinated by their
childhood writings, which were on display. In a certain way they were my
inspiration, as was my mother.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Why
not give a child you know a book and help them to learn to read it? Or an adult
who needs help for that matter? You will introduce them to captivating places
created by a writer's talent and imagination, and give them pleasure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Who’s
your Literacy hero? Nominate today at: </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/heroes"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">www.literacytrust.org.uk/heroes</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-56547485835644629622013-09-23T13:20:00.001-07:002013-09-23T13:30:19.287-07:00Our Beautiful Little Bichon, Chammi, Has Gone To Doggie Heaven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg7dUTR2oQ7J7GpfpxKfKPAPyUcWK_-lsHEN6ec9dGzynN2oM84JuOGhUV4o237X76-tbwW8wfgK_mW4CaH0F8U-kD794vU03QYEPIP4zZgJM5y62T-9579syUzcMCzugN6FeYQ_2eI_4-/s1600/Chammi+as+a+Puppy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg7dUTR2oQ7J7GpfpxKfKPAPyUcWK_-lsHEN6ec9dGzynN2oM84JuOGhUV4o237X76-tbwW8wfgK_mW4CaH0F8U-kD794vU03QYEPIP4zZgJM5y62T-9579syUzcMCzugN6FeYQ_2eI_4-/s400/Chammi+as+a+Puppy.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Our
beautiful little Bichon, Chammi, jumped onto a twinkling star on Saturday night
(September 21) and went up to Doggie Heaven. Waiting for her was Beaji, her
beloved companion of a lifetime, whom she had missed so much. Beaji had gone
ahead three years ago, much to our sorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Chammi
became ill unexpectedly on Friday evening (Sept 20) and was rushed into the
Blue Pearl Veterinary Hospital, one of the best in Manhattan. She had suffered
a seizure. Our wonderful vet, Dr. Barbara Kalvig was in constant touch with the
doctors at the hospital, and with Mohamed, who runs our household, and looks
after Chammi when we are away. Chammi was seventeen years old, but with her
glossy white fur and sparkling brown eyes she looked like a puppy, and everyone
remarked on her beauty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO3Al4tWGjGAQEJvADiMosLMQQPFHk_QvZX8Ur7d1KtF3JH917S3xy0kGCv7S8-Jqi0kVzf0i7mVDi4IHKIOYcCgCVpxHs3haOUVUrQHYm8ZP4S2HiK5mBFCQEgBnQBXhCQbnK8PSyqRXY/s1600/Barbara_bichonsfrises+Low-res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO3Al4tWGjGAQEJvADiMosLMQQPFHk_QvZX8Ur7d1KtF3JH917S3xy0kGCv7S8-Jqi0kVzf0i7mVDi4IHKIOYcCgCVpxHs3haOUVUrQHYm8ZP4S2HiK5mBFCQEgBnQBXhCQbnK8PSyqRXY/s400/Barbara_bichonsfrises+Low-res.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />We
were in Los Angeles when this happened, but we caught a plane on Saturday
morning and were back in time to say farewell to our darling pet, who had “written”
so many books with me. Now, when Bob and I look up at the stars at night we can
see Chammi nuzzling Beaji, as she always did. They are reunited at last. We
will miss them both, but they will always be in our hearts.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-43947321521143375522013-09-04T08:34:00.002-07:002013-09-04T08:34:46.206-07:00So Long To One Of Television's Greatest Stars: Sir David Frost 1939 - 2013<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bob and I were very saddened to learn
of the death of Sir David Frost. He was far too young to die, and he will be
missed, not only by his wife and three sons, but all of his friends and colleagues
around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I did many television shows with David
over the years and always enjoyed them. He was quite extraordinary, an incredible
interviewer, and managed to get so much information out of his interviewees,
myself included. This is because he was so very warm, friendly and chatty.
Under his benign gaze he made everyone feel at ease. Like everyone else, I
always forgot about the camera when talking to him. And then... <u>WHAM</u> came
the unexpected question, asked in such quiet tones. Everyone answered including
me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">He was a superb journalist and one of
television’s greatest stars. I don’t believe anyone will ever forget the Richard
Nixon interviews on American television. Not one network wanted to finance him
to do those interviews. So he financed them himself. And what a hit they were!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I remember when Bob and I rushed to see
the play about the Nixon interviews and then the movie, <i>Frost Nixon</i>. I ran into
David in New York and he told me how much he had enjoyed the play and the
movie. And so did we.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Last year, Bob and I went to dinner at
Scott’s Restaurant in London, and who should we bump into but David and his
wife Carina. We chatted for a while, catching up and reminiscing. Now he is
gone. But he will never be forgotten. He was one of the greats of television, and
there was nobody quite like him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-26764634758461350882013-08-27T09:05:00.000-07:002013-08-27T09:05:17.581-07:00Duc: A reporter's love for the wounded people of Vietnam<div style="text-align: center;">
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Uwe Siemon-Netto, a friend of mine for many years, who is married to one of my dearest friends, Gillian, was a war correspondent most of his working life as a journalist. Last year he started to write a memoir about his years covering the Vietnam War. Every week or so, he sent me a chapter, and he had me hooked until I'd read the last one. I highly recommend this extraordinary bit of storytelling at its best. Here is the review I wrote.<br />
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"Uwe Siemon-Netto's memoir about his years as a war correspondent in Vietnam is one of the most touching and moving books I have read in a very long time. It is also hilarious. This renowned journalist, a longtime war correspondent for various German newspapers, made me both sad and happy. I did cry at times, but I also laughed. He took me on a splendid journey from Saigon to Hue and back again, always captivating me with his memorable talent and his unique way with engaging words and phrases. I couldn't get enough of his anecdotes about his little friends, a group of street urchins. They slept in his ramshackle car at night, protesting they were doing him a favor by guarding it. his vivid writing brings alive all kinds of unusual cosmopolitan "characters" he met, as well as the innocent victime and brave survivors of this war, in particular the everyday people of Vietnam. His genuine sympathy for the Vietnamese, and his understanding of the war that engulfed them helped to make this a powerful read."<br />
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-- Barbara Taylor Bradford<br />
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Order your copy from Barnes And Noble: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/duc-uwe-siemon-netto/1116031951?ean=9781482692808">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/duc-uwe-siemon-netto/1116031951?ean=9781482692808</a><br />
<br />
Also on Amazon.com: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Duc-reporters-wounded-people-Vietnam/dp/1482692805">http://www.amazon.com/Duc-reporters-wounded-people-Vietnam/dp/1482692805</a>Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-31040969732010766692013-04-29T10:55:00.001-07:002013-04-29T11:13:51.434-07:00Manhattan romance: Barbara Taylor Bradford's New York home is a shrine to her success — and her English roots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(April 28, 2013)</div>
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The bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford is ensconced in an armchair in her cosy blue sitting room, contemplating a challenge harder than writing any book. She and her film-producer husband, Bob — they have been married for 49 years — want to downsize, and she is both dreading and relishing the thought of decluttering their lives. “We’ve got such a lot of stuff,” she proclaims in a voice that is still broadly Yorkshire, but has a Manhattan twang.<br />
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Their home is a shrine to the 79-year-old novelist’s successful career. Rows of her books, in multiple languages and in paperback editions or bound in leather, are in the library. Old publicity posters featuring a younger, blonder, slimmer Barbara hang on the walls. There are knick-knacks and photographs everywhere — a snapshot of Taylor Bradford receiving her OBE from the Queen takes pride of place, but I also count pictures of three British prime ministers, two former first ladies and the actor Christopher Plummer, a close friend. “I gave a dinner party here for my biographer, Piers [Dudgeon],” she says. “ It was a lovely affair, and halfway through the evening I caught his eye. I think he was a bit overwhelmed. He gave me this look, as if to say, ‘Oh, Barbara, you have done well... from Leeds to all this.’ And yes, I have. I’m proud of everything I’ve achieved.”<br />
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We are sitting in a lovely room, decorated in shades of blue and cream. It has a plump sofa with overstuffed cushions, comfortable chairs, tasteful art on the wall and a huge wooden cabinet filled with blue and white china. We could be sitting in a country house anywhere in England, but we are in the heart of Manhattan, in the sprawling 13-room apartment on 52nd Street where she and Bob have lived for nearly 18 years. Looking out from the sixth-floor windows, there are views of the 59th Street Bridge. Across the East River, a neon Pepsi sign written in dramatic art deco script is visible in Long Island City.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The decor is grand enough for the author’s heroines" height="266" src="http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/multimedia/dynamic/00339/STH28OVERSEAS7_339884o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Blue" Room</td></tr>
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The story goes that the actress Joan Crawford, who was on the board of Pepsi when she was married to its chief executive, Alfred Steele, had the sign erected opposite River House, the very block where we are sitting, in a fit of spite after the co-op board vetoed an application by the actress to buy one of its flats. The story is an urban legend, but it seems fitting — a strong woman getting her revenge on the people who crossed her could be a plotline in one of Taylor Bradford’s novels.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/multimedia/dynamic/00340/newyork_340235o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The River House Apartment Building</td></tr>
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It is a very English home, the writer acknowledges, echoing a childhood spent in Leeds, where her first job was in the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post. “I like comfortable houses, places where you can sit and read a book or watch television,” she says. “I want Bob to feel that it’s restful here. I hate houses that look like they’ve been designed by somebody else, and you don’t feel you can sit down or you’ll ruin the effect.”<br />
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The couple, who have no children, have lived in Manhattan for nearly 50 years: this is their third home in the city. They bought the 5,500 sq ft flat for $4m in the mid-1990s and spent another $2m fixing it up. Taylor Bradford says they were attracted by the light and the views — the elegant living room, which has a wood-burning fireplace, the library and the dining room all look out over a swathe of the East River and are bathed in natural sunlight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The 13-room property is done up like an English country house" height="266" src="http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/multimedia/dynamic/00339/STH28OVERSEAS3_339878o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bradford's Dining Room</td></tr>
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It is quite a change from the bizarre dark interiors they inherited — there was red vinyl on some of the walls, and many original decorative touches had been taken out. Now it is light, bright and airy. “I decorated it myself,” Taylor Bradford recalls. “I used to write decorating books and I had an interior design column, so I knew what I wanted. It took eight months and I didn’t have a single argument with Joe, my contractor. He said I was the only client who’s ever given him a board for every room, with all the colours and materials. I didn’t break down any walls, but I put in some new floors and added mouldings.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The living room has views of the East River" height="266" src="http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/multimedia/dynamic/00339/STH28OVERSEAS4_339881o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barbara's Home Library</td></tr>
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The public rooms are large by Manhattan standards, and there are covetable antiques, including art deco and Biedermeier furniture. White orchids are everywhere, and candles give off the tangy scent of grapefruit. There is a delightfully kitsch bar, with seats that once belonged in a 1920s ice-cream parlour. “Whenever we have company, all the men gravitate here,” Taylor Bradford says.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The author’s husband, Bob, a film producer, behind the kitsch bar, which has seats from a 1920s ice-cream parlour" height="266" src="http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/multimedia/dynamic/00339/STH28OVERSEAS6_339882o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy hour at home for Barbara and Bob at their bar</td></tr>
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The couple’s bedroom, in peach and blue, would be grand enough for any of her heroines, although I’m sure the next owners will want to update it. A painting of Gemmy, the couple’s first bichon frise, takes pride of place above the dressing table. They are devoted to the breed: their current dog, 17-year-old Chammi (short for champagne), has just been taken out for a walk by one of their two housekeepers, and is having her paws dried by what sounds like a hairdryer. They also have a house manager, Mohammed.<br />
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Any writer would envy Taylor Bradford’s spacious study, converted from a bedroom, with a desk looking out onto the art deco building next door. There is a computer, used for email and research, but she still writes her books on an old IBM typewriter: “I can’t think on a computer — I need to see things on paper.” She has written 28 books, including the bestseller A Woman of Substance, selling more than 88m copies; her novels have been translated into 40 languages and distributed in 90 countries.</div>
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Her work ethic is admirable for a woman of her age. She puts in 10- to 12-hour days and delivers a book a year to her publisher, HarperCollins. She shows me the plotlines for her next work, a two-book saga that will cover the years 1913 to 1945. The first book is titled Cavendon Hall and the second The Saga of Cecily Swann. “It’s not like Downton Abbey — I thought of it before that was even on television,” she says. “It’s about two girls, an aristocratic girl and Cecily, from a family of retainers. They grow up together and remain friends all their lives.”<br />
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During the rest of the tour, I get a peek at Bob’s den, the screening room, the kitchen and breakfast room, and Taylor Bradford’s walk-in closet, made out of two maid’s rooms, which Bob calls “ the department store”. She plans to donate pieces by Pauline Trigère, a French-born American fashion designer, to a museum. In another cupboard is her collection of handbags — including 24 Hermès bags, bought by Bob to celebrate wedding anniversaries and other important moments.<br />
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Yet they have decided to sell up for $10.3m (£6.7m), as the flat is now too big for them. “It’s a lot of walking because it’s such a big place,” the novelist says. “We really only live in three rooms.” The plan is to buy a smaller flat in Manhattan and a house in Florida, where they can see out the winters.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Her pad is full of antiques, knick-knacks and candles" height="266" src="http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/multimedia/dynamic/00339/STH28OVERSEAS9_339883o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Living Room Fireplace</td></tr>
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They’ll be leaving behind many happy memories. “We’ve had some wonderful dinner parties,” Taylor Bradford says. “Joan Rivers is such good fun — very ladylike and polite. She doesn’t mind at all if you comment on her latest facelift.<br />
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“She told such a funny story recently. She donates quite heftily, I think, to Prince Charles’s charities, and she was the only American, apart from diplomats, to be invited to Charles and Camilla’s wedding. She sent them a shopping bag full of the jewellery she sells on QVC as a wedding present, but there was obviously some confusion.” Apparently, Rivers asked the royal couple if they liked the gift she’d sent, only for Camilla to reply: “Oh, I haven’t decided yet what I want.” It turns out they thought they had to buy something, and Rivers had to explain that it was a gift. Taylor Bradford giggles at the thought of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall sifting through jewellery sold on the shopping channel.<br />
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She will be 80 next month, and is in fine health. She recently bumped into Joan and Jackie Collins in a restaurant. “Joan said conspiratorially, ‘We both have big birthdays coming up — what are you going to do?’ I replied that I’m doing nothing, just going out for dinner with my husband and some friends. Joan said she wouldn’t be having a big party, either.” She shrugs. “I feel young — like I’m 45. But when we sell this apartment, it’s going to be a whole new chapter.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/macaudio-2/secrets-from-the-past" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #1f5279; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="blank"><img height="265" src="http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/multimedia/archive/00339/STH28OVERSEAS5-580_339866a.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Listen to an extract from Taylor Bradford’s latest novel, Secrets from the Past</i></td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Secrets from the Past by Barbara Taylor Bradford is published by HarperCollins at £14.99. To buy it for £12.99, including p&p, call 0845 271 2135 or visit: <a href="mailto:thesundaytimes.co.uk/bookshop" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #1f5279; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">thesundaytimes.co.uk/bookshop</a></i></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Sotheby’s International Realty; 00 1 212 606 7611, </span><a href="http://sothebyshomes.com/" style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">sothebyshomes.com</a></h3>
<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Broker: Serena Boardman:<br /><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; line-height: 12.1875px;">Serena.Boardman@Sothebyshomes.com</span></b></span><br />
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Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-31130324724926432712013-04-09T10:27:00.000-07:002013-04-09T10:41:10.912-07:00THE DEATH OF THE GREATEST WOMAN OF THE 20TH CENTURY... AND PROBABLY EVEN THIS CENTURY<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">APRIL 9</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, 2013</span><br />
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The grocer’s daughter from Grantham, who lived above the shop yet aspired to great things, has passed away. But she will never be forgotten.<br />
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Margaret Thatcher, who was made a baroness for her services to her country by the Queen, was the greatest peacetime Prime Minister of the 20<sup>th</sup> century. She was also the most powerful woman in the world during her reign at Number 10.<br />
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And what a reign it was. When she became Prime Minister, Britain was at its lowest ebb, on the edge of a precipice, and in economic ruins. Certainly no longer considered a world power.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> She managed, through extraordinary intelligence, foresight, logic, brilliance, force of personality and self-belief to bring it back from the edge, and to safety and success. Such enormous success that she was adored by her admirers, hated by those who didn't “get it,” and because they were envious and jealous of her amazing triumphs and popularity.</span><br />
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She herself rose above all that nonsense, as she called it, and never lost sight of her goal: saving her beloved country and its everyday average people from disaster, bringing the land back to a prosperity it had not known for many years. She was able to do this because she had a true understanding of economics, the tyrannical unions and their domination, inefficient nationalized industries, and city councils. Blessed with a quantity of female practicality and common sense, she put that to good use. Most of all, she was a true visionary, saw the future and what Britain could become. Patriotic, humane, and compassionate, she came from the Middle Class and so understood the Middle Class, all of their problems, dreams, desires and needs.<br />
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Eventually she made London the financial capital of the world because of the Big Bang. This was the name given to her deregulation of the City in 1986.<br />
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She fought the idea of abandoning the pound sterling for the Euro, and won. How right she was, and we should be grateful to her for that foresight and her dogged insistence. She also fought the idea of a federal European State, and did not want Britain to become a member of the union. But nobody listened. Sadly.<br />
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Maggie, as the populace loved to call her, brought Britain back to center stage. We loved her for it, and so did the rest of the world. She was a star… today they would call her a ROCK STAR! I rather think she <u>was</u> exactly that.<br />
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Let’s not forget her closeness to President Ronald Reagan. She helped him to end the Cold War and bring down the Berlin Wall; and fought a war to keep the Falklands British and free of Argentinian control.<br />
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It was a Russian journalist who called her “The Iron Lady,” a title she rather enjoyed. And in a way, I think she was tough, but in an elegant way. She was one of the most feminine women I have ever met. She loved clothes, shoes handbags and jewelry. I’ve always admired her for that, and for owning up to it. Power in a lovely dress… A Woman Of Substance indeed.<br />
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She became Prime Minister in 1979, which was when my now-famous novel was published. We met through Irwin Bellow, who was chairman of Leeds City Council in charge of housing. He was brought in by Mrs. Thatcher to advise her about the selling of council houses to their tenants, not only in Leeds, but throughout the country. It was because of his help that she was eventually able to bring in a bill in Parliament enabling this to finally happen. He was her right-hand man in her endeavors, and she elevated him to the peerage for his hard work. He became Lord Bellwin.<br />
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It was Irwin who arranged for Bob and I to go out to our first event at Number 10. It was an evening cocktail party given by Mrs. Thatcher for those in the Arts. Bob and I were thrilled to attend. I recall being at the end of a long reception room, talking to a small group of people, when I noticed I was facing an open door. I stepped to one side, and caught a glimpse of an oil painting of my great hero, Winston Churchill. Edging away from the group, I went and peeped around the door. This opened onto a small landing, and hanging over a downward-spiraling staircase was that huge portrait of the great man.<br />
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Naturally, it was too tempting to resist. I stepped onto the landing, and went to get a better look at the portrait. A moment later I heard that inimitable voice, asking cordially, “Are you all right, Mrs. Bradford?”<br />
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I swung around to face Margaret Thatcher. “I am, thank you, Prime Minister,” I said. “I was just standing here, thinking that as a little girl growing up I could never have imagined that one day I would come to Number 10 and stand here looking at the portrait of Winston Churchill.”<br />
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“I know what you mean, Mrs. Bradford, neither did I,” she answered me with a twinkle in her eyes. As we walked back into the reception, she told me how much she had enjoyed my book, and I congratulated her on being the first woman to become Prime Minister.<br />
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Like Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher saved Britain in the postwar years, just as Churchill had saved the country in the Second World War, not to mention the Western Civilization as well.<br />
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Sir Winston had a State Funeral, and so should she. She certainly deserves it and should be honored in this way.<br />
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What do <u>you</u> think? Please share your memories and comments with me.</div>
Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-8142891607960465492013-03-29T08:23:00.003-07:002013-03-29T08:23:59.234-07:00Easter & Spring Greetings From Barbara Taylor Bradford<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2e_63ST3jzC6JQnSrdQv2yE0BnQJxVwvcH6Yx4VnMg4qKitAUCV1F4_1N5mlnQwDwPi8KALQ28BJOJk3BbwN7AIhb4N52w3MWwAI7N-5fDG-YpBnfbs1_sExsTP1kYLE-s4NmhyAIf1Gt/s1600/Easter+Greeting+2013+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2e_63ST3jzC6JQnSrdQv2yE0BnQJxVwvcH6Yx4VnMg4qKitAUCV1F4_1N5mlnQwDwPi8KALQ28BJOJk3BbwN7AIhb4N52w3MWwAI7N-5fDG-YpBnfbs1_sExsTP1kYLE-s4NmhyAIf1Gt/s400/Easter+Greeting+2013+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-9083186478015311712013-03-08T10:53:00.003-08:002013-03-08T12:15:48.981-08:00In Marriage There Is No Love Without Respect <br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15.921875px;">I just read the article in yesterday’s </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.2em; outline: none;">Daily Mail</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15.921875px;"> (UK) by British reality TV contestant, Katie Hopkins about her husband. I laughed out loud when she wrote that everything I said in my recent </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15.921875px;">Daily Mail</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15.921875px;"> feature about my formula for a long-lasting marriage was tosh! First of all she doesn't know me and has never met me. My friends will tell you that I am opinionated, outspoken and very independent. I tell everyone what I think whether they like it or not, and that includes my husband Bob. What I was explaining in the piece I wrote for the </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15.921875px;">Daily Mail</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15.921875px;"> last Saturday was that I think that respect and good manners are terribly important in the most intimate relationship of all – a marriage.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If you are going to be nasty to each other, why stay married? Katie Hopkins says she adores her husband. So do I – adore Bob – and he deserves it. He loves me, spoils me, protects me, defends me and manages my career. And yes, he too can be difficult, argumentative, and somewhat bossy. That’s why I call his Bismarck! Nobody is perfect but I believe that being nice to people you love is tremendously important whether that is your husband, a relative or a friend. I’m not sure what’s wrong with that although Katie Hopkins seems to think there is. The world we live in today is worse than it has even been and dangerous. It is also full of a lot of unkind, destructive, and anti-social people who make life miserable for everyone, especially their families. It’s bad enough our there without creating unnecessary conflict in the home. </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For the record, I don’t bite my tongue, I don’t creep around Bob, and I don’t keep the peace if I think it is necessary to say what I think. And bringing ‘generation’ into it is a load of tosh! It’s nothing to do with how old you are, it’s to do with character.</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE</span></h4>
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<img alt="Happily ever after: Barbara writes romantic novels, and her life with husband Bob perhaps mirrors some of these" height="219" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/01/article-2286751-088557F4000005DC-823_634x434.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="320" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here is the article link in the Daily Mail by Katie Hopkins:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love my husband - but respect him? Don't make me laugh!</span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford said the key to marriage was admiring your husband. What tosh, says KATIE HOPKINS</span><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2289255/Katie-Hopkins-admits--I-love-husband--respect-Dont-make-laugh.html" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 16px;" target="_blank">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2289255/Katie-Hopkins-admits--I-love-husband--respect-Dont-make-laugh.html</a></h2>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 15.921875px;">And here is the link to my original article in the Daily Mail that Ms. Hopkins has referenced:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: normal;"><b>Novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford's secret for lasting love? Always let your husband win the rows!</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2286751/Novelist-Barbara-Taylor-Bradfords-secret-lasting-love-Always-let-husband-win-rows.html#ixzz2MyWXFb5K" style="color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2286751/Novelist-Barbara-Taylor-Bradfords-secret-lasting-love-Always-let-husband-win-rows.html#ixzz2MyWXFb5K</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/01/article-2286751-185A1481000005DC-693_634x777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Double act: Barbara Taylor Bradford and husband Bob pictured in 1979: their love has continued to grow into old age" border="0" height="320" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/01/article-2286751-185A1481000005DC-693_634x777.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="261" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Have a look at both features and let me know which recipe to marital success you would choose.</span></b></span></div>
Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-32143824060932263372013-02-13T12:50:00.000-08:002013-02-13T12:50:12.283-08:00A Trio Of English Writers In A French Restaurant In New York <br />
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What a pleasant surprise I had last night! I just had to share it with you...<br />
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<a href="http://newyork.seriouseats.com/images/20101020-le-grenouille-lede.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://newyork.seriouseats.com/images/20101020-le-grenouille-lede.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Bob and I were out at our favorite French Restaurant in Manhattan, Le Grenouille (3 East 52nd Street). No, this wasn't our romantic Valentine's Day dinner celebrated a day early. We were entertaining Kate Elton, the Director of Fiction at HarperCollins (UK). Kate had some business here in NYC and we decided to show her a nice evening, while chatting about the imminent UK launch of my new novel, <i>Secrets From The Past</i> (coming out Feb 28 in the UK and April 9 in North America).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPsRFWtzN1OBIgdvr0bu213iWUXVOHPTpyyzeNLPsBBuEXkYCnfKlg-9DPfe_QEMSz3Sii5QETTzVREhPSNoXjAadQaTi8y0pAT1BctxoXSKeCIL9KER9YeMLc6oAsu6SeEaxsiuOfO4/s1600/2LaGrenouille.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPsRFWtzN1OBIgdvr0bu213iWUXVOHPTpyyzeNLPsBBuEXkYCnfKlg-9DPfe_QEMSz3Sii5QETTzVREhPSNoXjAadQaTi8y0pAT1BctxoXSKeCIL9KER9YeMLc6oAsu6SeEaxsiuOfO4/s320/2LaGrenouille.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />We were about to bite into our entrees, when from the corner of my eye, I spotted my dear friend, the eternally glamorous Joan Collins, dining on the other side of the restaurant. And sitting opposite Joan, her equally beautifully and talented sister, Jackie. Next to Joan was her charming husband, Percy Gibson. Not wishing to disturb their dinner, we elected not to head over to their table. Not yet, anyway. Besides, the Collins sisters hadn't yet noticed us on our side of the large room. Instead, I decided to have a little fun. I grabbed a sheet of paper from my purse and jotted down these words:" How fascinating to have three bestselling English authors under one roof in New York City." Jackie, of course, is the author of 28 NY Times Bestselling novels (incidentally the same number that I've penned). Joan is much better known for her legendary role on TV's iconic series, Dynasty. However, Bob and I had most recently seen her in London at a book party for her autobiography, which too was a worldwide bestseller.</div>
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I waited a few moments to grab the attention of our waiter. Then I folded the piece of paper and had him deliver it to Joan & Jackie at their table. And then I watched in anticipation for a reaction. I was not disappointed. Joan unfolded the note and appeared to read it aloud to Jackie. She then began to look around the room for the sender. It took a few moments, but alas she spotted me. A delicious grin overtook her face. Joan raised her hand and waved to me in acknowledgement, followed by Jackie, who raised a glass in our direction. Later, on the way out, we shared a good laugh about the whole coincidence. No doubt, our dinner guest, Kate, must have felt a little star struck. </div>
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<a href="http://www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Joan+Collins+Jackie+Collins+Vanity+Fair+Oscar+FRmONR9NtGfl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Joan+Collins+Jackie+Collins+Vanity+Fair+Oscar+FRmONR9NtGfl.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">And speaking of Le Grenouille, for thise seeking more info about this great restaurnt, here's a link to thier website: http://la-grenouille.com/about.html</span></div>
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You just never know who you might run into there...</div>
Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-9258745692545978622013-02-13T08:23:00.000-08:002013-02-13T08:23:19.974-08:00Happy Valentine's Day 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-91398072184987498702013-01-08T09:20:00.000-08:002013-01-08T09:20:28.404-08:002012 - A Year In 'Omnishambles'<br />
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<span style="color: #58595b; font-weight: normal;">It may have been an ‘omnishambles’, says Barbara Taylor </span><span class="highlight" rel="Bradford" style="background-color: #ffffcc; border: 0px; color: #58595b; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 1px 4px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bradford</span><span style="color: #58595b; font-weight: normal;">, but there was plenty to celebrate in 2012 – not least a skydiving Queen</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">(From "The Lady" Magazine)</span></h2>
<span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">It has been quite a year: successes and stars galore, and so much more. Not to mention savage weather and any number of disasters. There were scandals, and shameful and squalid secrets have been revealed. The BBC, mired in accusations about concealing the alleged sex crimes of Jimmy Savile, is in total denial. Meanwhile, a peer of the realm, wrongly accused, is suing everyone. Quite right. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">When I take a keener look at the last six months, I do see a great many villains and idols with clay feet. But then, suddenly, along come the true heroes, cheering each other as they hug gold, silver and bronze. The Olympians made us all smile with pride, instead of shudder in disgust. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">Then there was superstorm Sandy, battering the east coast of the US and causing death, heartache and sorrow, plus tens of billions of dollars in estimated losses and damage. The November floods across England were just as horrifying and heartrending. The worst catastrophe was the tiny, North Wales city of St Asaph, which literally disappeared underwater. Yet again, we have learnt that we are helpless when it comes to the weather – we can’t control it. Nor can we control people for that matter. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><img alt="Barbara Taylor Bradford" height="393" src="http://www.lady.co.uk/images/content/November_30_2012/BTB-Dec14-02-590.jpg" style="background-color: whitesmoke; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px; margin: 6px; max-width: 590px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="590" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">Undoubtedly, this has been an outlandish year. In fact, the Oxford English Dictionary has already coined a new word to describe 2012: omnishambles. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">But most of the events I remember best were truly spectacular and worthy of celebration: in June, the Diamond Jubilee. Whoever planned that spectacle should get a knighthood, a peerage, a duchy even. It was brilliant – but then we Brits do spectacle better than anyone else. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">The Queen and Prince Philip were magnificent, bright and sparkling, like the 100-carat diamonds they are. And how they managed to stand, smiling, for more than seven hours in the drizzle on the Royal barge, beggars belief. But what a thrilling sight the armada was, floating down the Thames. It reminded me of our great naval achievements and brought a poignant flash of memory of another armada… all those ships and pleasure cruisers, sail boats and yachts and barges, of all shapes and sizes, rushing across the English Channel to rescue our boys stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk in the Second World War. It was one of the greatest acts of bravery and it told the world who we are as a people. The Jubilee celebrations recaptured that spirit. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">Then there was Seb, who came running in, full of confidence and elan, with the Olympics tucked under his arm. He took my breath away. Despite all the mutterings of incompetence, the naysayers were proved wrong. The Olympics was a huge success. Our athletes showed us what they were made of… talent, power, guts and the determination to win. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">I watched the Olympics opening ceremony on a big TV screen, in a lounge, on a cruise ship. I know there were quite a few British people in the audience, because scattered around the room were people suddenly jumping up and standing to attention when the national anthem was played. My American husband, Bob, stood up, too. I choked up as I saw the story of Britain unfold in the production that followed. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">And then we got to see our Queen, acting alongside 007, Daniel Craig. What a thrill when she parachuted down into the Olympic stadium! Wild shouts and screams of amazement were heard around the room – although eventually we all realised that it wasn’t really Her Majesty jumping out of the plane. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">I never thought of an email as a deadly weapon, but a few anonymous messages, sent by a woman reservist in the US military to a Florida socialite, so-called, turned out to be lethal. Paula Broadwell’s emails warned Jill Kelley to stay away from ‘my guy’. They led a trail right to the doorstep of CIA director, General David Petraeus, a genuine war hero and a man of great bravery and stature. Eventually, the emails revealed an affair between Petraeus and Broadwell, his biographer. And so he resigned, which, in my view, is a great shame. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">I am so glad Nelson didn’t resign over his affair with Lady Hamilton. Then where would we have been? And what about General Eisenhower during the Second World War? He had a long affair with his driver, Kay Summersby, but he didn’t resign when the affair was discovered. He didn’t even blink. Instead, he went on to become US President. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">Talking of generals, most of the women I know are attracted to men in the military. It’s the uniform, of course. An impeccably tailored jacket, embellished with a blaze of medals, four silver stars on each shoulder, truly does give off the e ffluvium of power, machismo, command and heroism. Total aphrodisiacs to us of the fairer sex. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">But remove the uniform and the glory instantly fades. I was a young journalist in Fleet Street, and still single, when I met a general while working on a feature. He took a shine to me and relentlessly pursued me until I finally agreed to have dinner with him. He arrived to pick me up, but was no longer quite the same. Disappointingly, he had changed his uniform into ‘civvies’. The suit, he explained, was his ‘disguise’. But it wasn’t. What it did was reveal him to be, well, just another man. Suddenly, the glamour was gone. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">I am writing this column in Paris and not very far from my hotel is the Élysée Palace, where lives the president of France, François Hollande. As the EU faces crisis after crisis after crisis, his current mistress, Madame Trierweiler, and former, Madame Royal, are at war with each other. Royal, the mother of his four children, seems to be the favourite of the French at moment. Trierweiler, meanwhile, got black marks for causing trouble for Royal in her political campaign and was reportedly threatened with the sack by Paris Match, where she works as a journalist. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">So where does Monsieur le Président stand in all this? Who knows? Quelle omnishambles, indeed. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">And finally… it was great to learn that Great Britain has just been voted the most influential nation in the world, by Monocle magazine’s Soft Power Survey. We have earned this top spot thanks to the Queen, the Olympics, our music and books and the millions of tourists who flock here. </span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">So Happy New Year to one and all. Let’s just hope it’s not another omnishambles.</span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><em style="background-color: whitesmoke; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Barbara Taylor <span class="highlight" rel="Bradford" style="background-color: #ffffcc; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 1px 4px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bradford</span>’s new novel, Secrets From The Past, is published by HarperCollins on 28 February.</strong></em></div>
Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-22649143025597523142012-12-17T06:37:00.001-08:002012-12-17T08:18:22.284-08:00Happy Holidays From Barbara Taylor Bradford 2012/13<img height="640" src="http://btbnewsflash.com/BTB-and-Bob-Holiday12.jpg" width="447" />Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-90051370312047651702012-11-05T08:58:00.000-08:002012-11-05T08:58:22.191-08:00New York and Hurricane Sandy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><u>ALERT<br /><span style="font-size: small;">This excerpt is lifted from my column appearing in "The Lady" magazine -- November 9th Issue</span></u></b></h2>
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NEW YORK</div>
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I am a Yorkshire girl, but life transported me to Manhattan, which is now my home. So I was stunned and terrified for our friends, loved ones and all my fellow New Yorkers when I saw the shocking footage of Hurricane Sandy sweeping over the city I love. I was traveling in Europe when Sandy struck, and I am told that my apartment (located in the mid 50s) has survived the deluge. But my heart goes out to everyone who has had to live through the disaster.<br /><br />At last count, I hear it will cost $50 billion to repair the damage. But knowing New Yorkers the way I do, I know they will pull through. In fact, just like after 9/11, they will look to the future, rebuild their magnificent city - and doubtless emerge even stronger.</div>
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Barbara Taylor Bradford </div>
Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-23478695206635316632012-08-16T08:54:00.000-07:002012-08-16T08:54:07.229-07:00A Tribute To Helen Gurley Brown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://helloladies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/HGB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://helloladies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/HGB.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When we heard that Helen Gurley
Brown had died on Monday in Manhattan, Bob and I were very sad. Helen and her
husband, David Brown, had been friends of ours for many years. But almost
immediately I began to smile as I thought of the happy times we had spent with
them over thirty years. Such wonderful memories. Bob smiled too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Helen
became a fan of mine, as did David, after reading <i>A Woman Of Substance,</i> and I had always been a fan of hers, ever since
I picked up the first issue of Cosmopolitan which she edited and revamped. A staid,
somewhat dull magazine became a sensational looking and fabulous publication
for the modern woman. Helen and Cosmopolitan did much to change the way women
thought about themselves. Like her book, <i>Sex
And The Single Girl</i>, the magazine was the first to introduce frank and open
discussions about sex in a magazine for women, as well as other subjects. The
first issue came out in July 1965, and Helen was at the helm until February of
1997. Thirty-two years! No other editor that I know of has been as closely
identified with a magazine as Helen. The new look and new ideas were all hers.
She convinced us we could have it all… career, marriage and children, and many
women <u>have</u> managed to do that, but not all. In any case, she changed the
look and content of women’s magazines forever, and for the better. And everyone
has copied her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://img2-3.timeinc.net/people/i/2012/news/120827/helen-gurley-brown-300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://img2-3.timeinc.net/people/i/2012/news/120827/helen-gurley-brown-300.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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Helen
was slender, petite and chic. She dressed with flair, kept her weight under control,
and always looked fantastic. Ambitious, driven, tough, immensely talented and
highly intelligent, she was also flirty, witty, amusing and kind. Bob said to
me earlier today that Helen was a <u>nice</u> woman, and that’s the truth. We
often had dinner with them in New York and Bob and David had much in common,
because they were both movie producers and movie buffs. David was a gentleman
of the old school, always charming and gallant.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There
is one occasion Bob and I remember well, when we went to the Deauville Film
Festival, and where I was to receive an award for my body of work in film. Bob
was giving a luncheon afterward, and he invited lots of our friends to come and
celebrate with us. Sure enough, David and Helen came, and so did the late
fashion designer, Pauline <em><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-style: normal;">Trigère</span></em>. And many
friends arrived at the French resort to be with us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I
remember chatting to David at the cocktail reception before the lunch, and with
me was Pamela Harriman, at that time the US Ambassador to France, who had
presented the award to me. Suddenly, David stopped talking and rather abruptly.
Pamela and I exchanged glances, and then we both smiled when he exclaimed, “Here
comes Helen! Now doesn’t she look foxy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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And
indeed she did, in a short little dress, high heels and long hair. He got it
right. And they got it right together. They had the happiest marriage, somewhat
like ours. They supported each other in every way until David died two years
ago.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.showbiz411.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/helen.gurley.brown_.david_.brown_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://www.showbiz411.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/helen.gurley.brown_.david_.brown_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Helen
Gurley Brown died this week at the age of ninety, after a wonderful life. She
will be missed by us, and all of her other friends. Farewell, Helen. <u>Bon
Voyage</u>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
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Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-32468422325883446492012-07-19T08:17:00.000-07:002012-07-25T08:26:33.697-07:00Proud Desire: Author's Romance With Hermès (Wall Street Journal)<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444330904577534963996304188.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444330904577534963996304188.html</a>
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<em>New York City</em></div>
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Author Barbara Taylor Bradford says her collection of Hermès bags tells the story of her marriage.</div>
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"We went to Paris on a wintry day," begins Barbara Taylor Bradford. This is not a story about one of her romantic heroines but about a love of her own: her first Hermès bag.</div>
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Some people collect stamps, rocks, fountain pens or antique cars. Mrs. Bradford, a bestselling novelist, has 24 Hermès handbags in her closet.</div>
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All bought by her husband of 48 years, the bags represent significant events and intimate celebrations. Her oldest is a black leather Kelly dating from her 1964 honeymoon in Paris. The most recent is an orange Kelly purchased for Christmas 2010 in New York by that same husband, film producer Bob Bradford. "All of my handbags tell the story of my marriage," she says.</div>
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If there is just one sour note in the tale, it is the fact that there is one Hermès bag that the Bradfords haven't managed to obtain: a Birkin.</div>
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I ... I it\'s clear he won the world\'s most ... he missed all this can not get her hands on deck when talk to Chris Binkley right now she bites are ... on stock on a different ... pay any how are you ... I\'m great not tell us a bucket Barbara Taylor Bradford ... I should a woman of substance to when the bestselling novelist of all times ... she collects ... what kind of act ... stick with Aaron as bad as I ATR NESN people call them Perrysburg that their meds and I\'m in she has twenty four of that in her closet ... the the one that she can I get is a Birkin bag and this is a bank so famous for being hard to get ... it was featured on sex in the city was take a listen to that right now that episode ... I know ... that when ... I ... five years ... right ... working ... I so bothered Taylor Bradford although she has eyes as to how many these actions twenty four of the bags but the Birkin bag is the one she can get it that that issue will go on the list ... that\'s exactly right he started collecting her Perez bags in nineteen sixty three she got her first win ... in Paris on her honeymoon it was purchased by her husband was purchased ... every single of the bag including fourteen Kelly\'s this is a big collection ... of Kelly\'s ... but when she went in to ask for a berth in several years ago the Toshiba that her name on a listen she said she\'s just not that person ... to couples that shallow she won\'t do it ... was ... about the Kelly I have one on set with the right here this Blue Cross cannot tell am holding up ... I and they\'re they\'re a bit companies\'s retails for about thirty one thousandfive hundred dollars so these ... are not in significant investment and it\'s a beautiful it\'s a beautiful bag ... again blue crocodile ... so how is she getting it she by men for herself is her husband by an informer ... this is good when you listen to it said Mrs Bradford talking about these bags that says that she\'s leaving whatever other novels of romance he talks about it is being ... the tail of her marriage ... so when fixing and significant things happened her husband will catch up to an end as store of its nearby wherever they are ... and buy her another back that they have a series of stories about somebody you know ... when refusing a bag in this or intended they picked it up and give all kinds of crazy bench along the way ... now and ... the Birkin bag what makes that so unique is the fact that it is so hard to get ... this is this for about a smart marketing tactic on the play a part of him as a sort of make and were showing that right now but looking at that ... I think ... that the book and I think that I mean here but I\'m not sure we\'ll save that I\'m ... so is this part of a marketing strategy that makes it more desirable for people ... if it well so hard to get ... sorry to get their message is not a marketing strategy and they get very very touchy when they\'re asked about it but it\'s hard to imagine ... quite frankly ... that I\'m that there\'s not a lot of marketing and having a very limited supply of ... of of bury them in a very coveted looks very good ... the burger was designed in the nineteen eighties it really hasn\'t been all around this lovely Kelly bags dates from the nineteen thirties impacts of the Perkins ... euro relatively speaking a very new bag ... but I\'m extremely hard to get to if you\'re not I\'m back up ... and ... the onthe rethinking the above account Bradford you would be able to get what ... on some of the guys in the news rumors for a stop at the idea of collecting handbags that ... the if is so different a collecting cufflinks or something along those lines ... except maybe that the ice ... I think that\'s a great analogy actually it\'s like any other corner stores I attended talking about ... the lowest price for AG Kelly bag for instance is going to be roughly eight thousand dollars you can go up in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in May by a single Artisan ... who works on that from beginning to end ... so what\'s what\'s the difference in that in the beautiful fountain pen for instance and higher than in any get when looking at this this this Kelly bag that I\'ve that Yun said thirty one thousandfive hundred dollars Blue crocodile ... my question is when you collect something of this value ... isn\'t there a proper storage and maintenance and involved and what is that Kris ... well for one thing I think if you open the bag you may find that it has its own little re Coke\'s inside so if you get caught out in the rain ... you pop out the flow rate could increase the over China and India protected from the rain it also comes with a very soft stack and Mrs Bradford\'s bags all twenty four of them are stored in her closet with in the facts that they came in ... to protect them ... and for many of them Kelly is an end Perkins also come with a scrap piece of fabric that has various openings in that it can be some sliced through ... the bag to protect the leather ... or a crocodile in the material is from that the brass fittings that from the metals that nothing gets pretty green around the cap just like like anything else again take care of the crispy eclipses in Churstain ... well read more about that in to Mars Pursell jar","editor":"lrudser","videoStillURL":"http://m.wsj.net/video/20120718/071812lunchfashion2/071812lunchfashion2_512x288.jpg","video1500kMP4Url":"http://m.wsj.net/video/20120718/071812lunchfashion2/071812lunchfashion2_1500k.mp4","thumbnailURL":"http://m.wsj.net/video/20120718/071812lunchfashion2/071812lunchfashion2_167x94.jpg","showName":"","wsj-packages":"","description":"Novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford says her 24 Hermes bags tell the story of her marriage. Each one represents a chapter, such as the completion of a book (Evelyne bag) or a birthday (green crocodile Kelly bag). Christina Binkley has details on Lunch Break.","relatedLinkHref":"","industries":["Advertising","Media","Entertainment and Leisure","Travel"],"guid":"DA439257-3C73-4A98-97C8-511AD2694999","doctypeID":"115","video1064kMP4Url":""}" data-video-size="D" style="background-color: black; font-size: 1em; height: 153px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 272px;">
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Novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford says her 24 Hermes bags tell the story of her marriage. Each one represents a chapter, such as the completion of a book (Evelyne bag) or a birthday (green crocodile Kelly bag). Christina Binkley has details on Lunch Break.</div>
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For many collectors, the difficulties of obtaining some Hermès bags have only added to their mystique. Hermès bags are a particularly feminine obsession, but purchasing one offers the sense of achievement and excellence sought by many other connoisseurs. A simple Kelly bag in fine broad-grain leather can cost $8,300, and prices can easily rise to five or even six figures, depending on the design, size and materials.</div>
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Kelly and Birkin bags, produced in limited quantities by artisans in France, have their own mythology. The Kelly is the most complex Hermès bag to make, and one can take several days to produce, the company says.</div>
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Shoppers can't get Birkins just by walking into a store. The company says a shopper might get a Birkin by requesting it, giving contact information, and waiting until one is available. (There is not a formal waiting list, as is popularly believed.) Some people, however, spend years waiting, while others seem to get Birkins quickly.</div>
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Hermès Bags Through the Years</h3>
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<cite style="color: #666666; display: block; font-style: normal; margin: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right;">Howard Sochurek/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images</cite><br />
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Prince Rainier III of Monaco with Grace Kelly—clutching an Hermès purse—at the announcement of their engagement in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1956. The actress carried a bag that was designed by Hermès in the 1930s and became known as the Kelly bag in the 1950s.</div>
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The company is aware that it has many "passionate" clients, says spokesman Peter Malachi. Hermès doesn't track its collectors, though individual Hermès boutiques may offer good clients an inside track on the latest bag or another item.</div>
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The company's scarves, made in Lyons, France, in constantly renewed patterns, may be one of fashion's most collected products. Scarves, which start at around $325, are more affordable than bags. But Hermès says it doesn't manufacture products specifically for collectors.</div>
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<cite style="color: #666666; display: block; font-style: normal; margin: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right;">Mimi Ritzen Crawford for The Wall Street Journal</cite><br />
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Mrs. Bradford's collection of Hermès bags</div>
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Mrs. Bradford's collection began because she loved actress Grace Kelly, who carried a bag that was designed by Hermès in the 1930s and became known as the Kelly bag in the 1950s. "I always thought Grace Kelly was so beautiful and so elegant," says Mrs. Bradford, who carries her bags with an Hermès scarf tied on the handle, "the French way."</div>
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Her husband bought each bag (often with her collaboration) to celebrate something, such as the completion of a novel (an Evelyne) or a birthday (a green crocodile bag purchased in Cannes). "She's a very classy dame," Mr. Bradford says. "I love her to be elegant."</div>
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<cite style="color: #666666; display: block; font-style: normal; margin: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right;">Bonham's</cite><br />
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A Birkin, which Mrs. Bradford has been unable to obtain</div>
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Some people have several dozen Hermès bags. But Mrs. Bradford's collection stands out because she has been acquiring them for so long. Collections dating from before the 1980s "are few and far between," says Tina Craig, co-founder of the BagSnob blog.</div>
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Mrs. Bradford's closet is just off her mauve-and-pale-blue bedroom, whose walls are covered in silk. On the bed, a pillow wishes, "Sweet Dreams" under a sweep of silk drapery. Her 16-year-old Bichon Frisé, Chammi, pads around the bedroom.</div>
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<cite style="color: #666666; display: block; font-style: normal; margin: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right;">Mimi Ritzen Crawford for The Wall Street Journal</cite><br />
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This bag was purchased by her husband for her birthday in Cannes.</div>
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Mrs. Bradford has four honorary doctorates, and in 2007 was appointed to the Order of the British Empire. That earned her an audience with Queen Elizabeth as well as her own family crest, which is displayed in her robin-egg-blue sitting room. Her 27 books have sold more than 85 million copies globally.</div>
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But none of that helped when she hoped to celebrate submitting her 2009 novel "Breaking the Rules" with a Birkin. An Hermès salesperson said she would have to put her name on a waiting list, says Mr. Bradford, who was upset about it. "After all these years?" he asks.</div>
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<cite style="color: #666666; display: block; font-style: normal; margin: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right;">Mimi Ritzen Crawford for The Wall Street Journal</cite><br />
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This custom Kelly bag—based on a scarf print—was declined by the client shortly before the Bradfords happened to be at the Paris store.</div>
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The Bradfords failed to snare a Birkin again last year in Paris, when they spied a blue one in the window of the Ave. Georges Cinq store. "The woman came back and said it's not for sale," says Mrs. Bradford. Her husband bought her a scarf and bracelet instead.</div>
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Hermès says that the bag was part of a window decoration made with items that were never for sale.</div>
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<cite style="color: #666666; display: block; font-style: normal; margin: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right;">Mimi Ritzen Crawford for The Wall Street Journal</cite><br />
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Mrs. Bradford's first Hermès bag, purchased in Paris in 1964 on her honeymoon.</div>
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Mrs. Bradford doesn't want to put down her name for a bag. "That's so shallow to put yourself on a list for a bag," she says, adding that it isn't in her character to become so obsessed with a handbag.</div>
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She does own a fake Birkin, given to her by a friend. "I never use it, but I can't get rid of it because she's in my house all the time," she says. "I feel like it's stealing intellectual property."</div>
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It isn't clear what Mrs. Bradford would need to do to obtain a Birkin. Michael Tonello, whose memoir "Bringing Home the Birkin" detailed his methods for buying and reselling the bags, says Hermès doles out Birkins based on how much people spend in their stores. "There's plenty of bags in the back room," he says.</div>
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<cite style="color: #666666; display: block; font-style: normal; margin: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right;">Mimi Ritzen Crawford for The Wall Street Journal</cite><br />
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A recent acquisition bought for Christmas 2010.</div>
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Hermès says the bag shortage is real, adding that it can't make enough to meet the demand. "I'm aware that you've read that book," Mr. Malachi said when asked.</div>
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Last month, Mrs. Bradford submitted the manuscript for her 28th novel, "Secrets From the Past." The book will be published early next year, but she says that for now, she has lost interest in getting a Birkin.</div>
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Her husband agrees. "I'm not going to go on that list. I'm too good a customer," he says.</div>
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<strong>Write to </strong>Christina Binkley at <a class="" href="mailto:christina.binkley@wsj.com" style="color: #093d72; outline: none;">christina.binkley@wsj.com</a></div>
</div>Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77483471515509356.post-12838300354244007692012-06-08T07:28:00.000-07:002012-06-08T07:53:01.531-07:00My Cherished Letter From Clementine Churchill<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of my most prized possessions throughout my life has been a handwritten letter sent to me by Clementine Churchill, wife of legendary British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It's a treasure that I have hung onto and prominently displayed in my home for decades. I've recently loaned this special letter to a Churchill exhibition in New York City at the Morgan Library called: The Power Of The Word. The exhibit has been arranged by an organization called "Cambridge In America." I want to share with you all now the story behind this most extraordinary letter, and some details from the exhibit opening last night...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I was growing up in Yorkshire during World War II, I wanted to do something to help the war effort. Encouraged by my parents, Winston and Freda Taylor, I held a jumble (garage) sale in my mother's garden. I invited school friends, teachers and relatives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Small kitchen and household items, given to me by my mother, grandmother and aunts went on sale. At the end of the afternoon, everything had been sold for a few pennies each, but everyone was well pleased with the result.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I then wrote a latter to the wife of the Prime Minister, Mrs Clementine S. Churchill, and sent the money to her for her Aid to Russia Fund. Within days Mrs. Churchill wrote back to me thanking her. Can you imagine the lovely surprise for this little girl to get a personalized reply from the wife of the iconic Winston Churchill?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.2em; outline: none;">I have treasured that letter ever since. However, I wanted to ensure that this piece of history can be enjoyed by many more than those who visit my home. I've recently gifted it to Churchill College in Cambridge (UK) because I believe this is its rightful home. It will be delivered to the college at the conclusion of the exhibition at the Morgan Library.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.2em; outline: none;">On June 7th, 2012 I attended the private reception for the opening of <u>Churchill: The Power Of The Word</u> at the Morgan Library in Manhattan. Boris Johnson, London's colorful mayor, showed up full of good humor and clever comments. My husband, Bob, and I were surprised to see him and went over to chat. "Come and visit me, come to the London Olympics," he said. We promised to try.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mayor Johnson was one of the evening's featured speakers. He made everyone chuckle. Also present were Sir Winston's two granddaughters, my redheaded friends Edwina Sandys, the well-known artist, and her sister Celia Sandys, the famous writer. I also spotted Andrew Roberts, the British historian and Churchill biographer, as well as lots of other New York and British notables. The exhibition is open to the public from June 8th until September. I found it very inspirational.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.2em; outline: none;"><br /></span></div>Barbara Taylor Bradfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07038251140647705101noreply@blogger.com7