Dru, Steinbeck and the Book of Deer

Dear Juliet I don't think my brain's doing very well today, so I thought I'd send you a few pictures from Merrie England? Well, I Hope U Like: Silbury Hill in Wiltshire . It's the largest artificial prehistoric mound in Europe, built about 2400 BC. Nobody knows what it's for as the guys who put it together didn't leave a handbook... I've been past it several times. I first found it after being diverted from the M3 because some nut dropped nuclear waste on the carriageway. I had to navigate along the back roads by the seat of my pants, decided I'd try and find England's best-looking pub and came across the Waggon and Horses just behind it in Beckhampton: Then there's Richard III... I went to a college get-together in Leicestershire, had a look round town first and found Richard's recently recreated resting place. As you know, they lost his bones for centuries and only rediscovered them in 2012-2013 . British Path é made a movie about it called...

Dear Juliet I don't exactly know how you're feeling today, although I think you read a wide range of blogs last night. Well, my number/email hasn't changed, I'll get a few more photos of London for you 18th-20th this month, and Point Lobos is still there: Dru's probably having a Pina Colada on the porch in Avalon (must give you the address sometime), and I am relatively content writing to you. You do still make me happy. I like thinking about you. But perhaps the thing to say today is that Dru still loves you. She is of course actually very old, and now she's got her head together, very wise and very understanding. It's a depth of comprehension no human can match, because she's been around since 1840 and she's seen it all... So, just for once, I'll step fully back into the Drusillaverse (!) and explain something I once referred to vaguely in more depth... "In the articles I sent back to the NAS, I sometimes talked of Drusilla as if she were ...

Dear Juliet Thought for the day: I call you a princess a lot, but actually I scarcely think about the fact you're Hollywood royalty. And that, I suppose, is because you yourself were always a princess to me and I hardly gave any thought to the public/dynastic version. That's because you mean the world to me, not your celebrity title. Anyway, just thought I'd mention that. You were liked for yourself, not your connections. Also, sitting down today it occurred to me that you couldn't know much about my memorabilia. Well, I got a little statuette years ago which stands just in front and to the side of a certain framed front cover. There. And maybe you wondered how much interest I took in your film & TV career? Well, here's a shelf of my DVDs. The one without a title on its spine is Take Flight . I've seen Where The Road Runs Out on YouTube, but I don't think I can physically collect it. Good acting in The Bronx Bull . And the Drusilla doll's well take...

Dear Juliet I have to go out for the afternoon, so I'll blog a bit later in the day. Don't worry, I'm never far away. Love, James

Dear Juliet More precisely, Marathon Flats... I've always set some store by the fact that I walked from Carmel to Point Lobos, partly because I'm a macho idiot and partly because there was no other way. I even got quite fond of the Number 5 bus which dropped me off at the crossroads and the nearby Chevron filling station. However, I looked up news about Point Lobos for you and found out they're setting up a shuttle service to the Point from Marathon Flats, just south of the Chevron and near Safeway. It'll take a couple of years and 'til then it looks like the need to take a walk or crowd out the car park will stay the same. After that, though, you'll need a reservation to get into the Reserve even if you're on foot , it seems. I also ended up finding out Monterey does monthly condo/cottage rentals, which might be interesting. Right now, though, I feel like I've run a marathon and don't desire to go any further than Cleethorpes. Still, maybe one day.....

Dear Mrs Robinson Okay, bear with me! I noticed you read a couple of posts about Point Lobos (perhaps while eating a pastrami and rye sandwich?) in the wee small hours. Good, and the thing is, I like Point Lobos. I like writing about it. I've been three times and I wouldn't mind making it four. So let's look at it from another angle. After Robert Louis Stevenson might have got the idea for Treasure Island there ca. 1879, the Point featured in quite a few films, including: Treasure Island (1934) Rebecca (1940) Vertigo (1958) The Graduate (1967) I think Point Lobos can just about be seen at the start of this excerpt from The Graduate , as Benjamin Braddock shoots north in search of Elaine to the tune of Scarborough Fair . Funny thing is, I had Dru singing Scarborough Fair  too... "She walked up the stone steps to his grave every day, softly singing Scarborough Fair as she went on her way. Sometimes she took daisies, often she made posies, but most times she too...