Parties and Pirates

Have had a fun-packed week here in London Town.

First off was the RNA Summer Party in Birdcage Walk on Wednesday night. As always it was a glittery affair with lots of hot gossip (actually probably not that hot as I always seem to be the last to hear anything!), delicious canapes (was particularly partial to the risotto balls, yum) and sparkling fizz (which I managed to down before the toasts, as always).

But best of all of course is the chance to chat up a storm with old mates (waving to Riva gals Fiona Harper & Lucy King, Romance Minx Lorraine Wilson, NWS author Carol Christie, Oxford journo Mary Zacaroli and Modern star  Sharon Kendrick here among others) and meet some new peeps. It was particularly lovely to meet Minx Sally Clements for the first time (am just tucking into her book Bound to Love btw and loving it!) who was up for the Joan Hessayon award (and has somehow managed to get four books published in the interim... another author who's much more prolific than me then!).

She didn't win (even though I was cheering up a storm for her with my empty champagne flute) and got pipped at the post by Charlotte Betts, but as I told her on the night she's in great company when it comes to former nominees who didn't win (ie, moi!). Also bumped into my ed which was actually great (even though I had been contemplating hiding behind a pillar if I saw her due to state of my current ms and fast approaching deadline), she talked me down from the ledge of panic and gave me an extra week on my deadline (always nice to have a little extra breathing room) and between us we decided that my stoic-to-the-point-of-speechless hero might just be the strong, very silent type! Phew! And Amazingly, now he seems to have finally started talking (better late than never buddy) and to the heroine no less. Double phew!

I've pinched some lovely photos from the evening of myself from Lorraine and the lovely Philippa Ashley because as usual I didn't bring a camera (I know, call myself a blogger!).

Finished off the week with a fun outing to the IMAX cinema in Waterloo to see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides... Something I've been looking forward to for a while and not just because of my mad passion for Cap'n Jack! During last summer the production was shooting in Greenwich (in the fabulous Royal Naval College where we had the RNA conference last year) and Son Two worked as an extra for two weeks on it. He was bound by a confidentiality agreement until release, so I haven't been able to talk about it online till now. Needless to say, he had a high old time missing school and dressing up as a  Georgian boy (complete with topcoat, tri-corn hat, stockings and breeches) and even got to exchange a high-five with Johnny Depp in full Jack Sparrow regalia (who he said was 'totally cool')... I on the other hand had to wake up at 5am every morning to drive him to the set and did not get to meet Johnny Depp or Jack Sparrow (cue mournful violin solo please)! I did see one of the stunts being filmed from a distance, thought I had spotted Jack and then Son Two informed me it was probably one of JD's three stunt doubles (but I shall insist to my dying day it was the real Jack Sparrow!).

The film itself turned out to be a blast, maybe not as hilarious as the first, but at least a lot more intelligible than the other two (ie, I actually had a clue what was going on) plus there was a brilliant mermaid attack scene and a very sweet romance subplot.... More about that on the Pink Heart Society soon. And we spotted Son Two in the crowd shots... For about a nanosecond, so all those early mornings were worth it!

Right, back to my latest ms. My hero better still be talking!