Dru, Steinbeck and the Book of Deer

Dear Juliet Just in general (very general), a little thought: The best thing to do with a problem is to face up to it. It's usually not as bad as you think, and if you deal with it, two things happen: 1) You feel better. 2) The problem's fixed. I know. Number Two sounds so obvious and banal it's almost funny, but it's true. I had to face up to hundreds of things when I moved from Scotland to Shropshire, and I used this tactic over and over again. Don't leave things 'til the last minute, darling, and (to paraphrase Petula Clark) end up sleeping in the subway ! Please don't. I rather like the Los Angeles Metro, but you wouldn't want to live there. Okay, that's all I'm going to say. I feel a bit flattened today, but rest assured you're always on my mind, come what may... Love, James P.S. Come to think of it, there's a story about you, me and the Metro... Don't think I ever told you. Well, I might tomorrow. Shot of Central L.A., taken fro...

Dear Juliet Okay, I'm not quite sure what to say today so let's start with one gentle comment: I think I understand your situation. That's all I'm going to say about that. Okay then, take a deep breath, calm down, relax. It would be nice to see you in Shifnal. I think somebody up there likes you, and tried to at least place you nearby twice this decade. I don't know, third time lucky? Charles Dickens lodged here, too. Well, not with me but in nearby Albrighton, I believe. Shifnal itself may have featured in The Old Curiosity Shop and the fictional grave of Little Nell is in the churchyard of St Bartholomew's, Tong , which is nicknamed the Westminster Abbey of the Midlands. Birmingham is nearby and we're about 150 miles or two hours by train from London. That's if the trains work, which they usually don't. The population's about 11,000, many rather elderly, and the church really acts as the social and community centre. Yes, it does get cold and ...

Dear Juliet Another thoughtful one (different subject). I've been treating this correspondence with great discretion, of course, but at the same time I stayed in touch with Rena Lou, a fan of yours, all these years. She's the one for whom I had our photo taken at Earl's Court in 2014 , and I'm sorry to say she's battling breast cancer. I didn't want to say anything to you before as I was concentrating entirely on you, and I felt and feel you're in a delicate state. Nor did I want to ask you for any favours, however small. But it bugged me. I think it's okay now to suggest you might like to send her a Get Well Soon card, though? She doesn't know about the blog either. I've been sending her supportive Facebook messages daily and I think she's on her last eight rounds of chemotherapy (thirty-two altogether). Some days are good. Some days are not so good. So if you'd like to do so, here's her address: Rena Lou Short Box 1801 Lafayette Geo...

Dear Juliet Today, a thoughtful thought. Don't read too much into this, but just in case you really need a break from it all, you can have sanctuary here. I'll put a camp bed in the front room for me, you can stay here for up to six months with an ETA and bring up to £9,999 without any need for paperwork at customs. I thought I'd better just make the offer so you know it's there, so that's all I'm going to say. Mind you, you might rather enjoy Open Door... Love, James

Dear Juliet Thanks for reading Flesh/Blood and taking an interest. Actually, I finished the pills (Dabrafenib and Trametinib) about the end of July and things seem to be winding down. I am a little more tired than usual, but I've got a last appointment with Dr. Iqbal at New Cross on 20th October and that should be that. I'll do one last walk, take another picture of the ducks for you and probably see if I can find somewhere warm to go between 4th-22nd January. I think Los Angeles/Catalina is very nice that time of year but that probably wouldn't be too bright an idea... Pity, have I ever told you I like seeing you? Anyway, four calls tonight and it'll be an exercise in energy conservation. Might do a bit of crying in the layby out of habit or take to the rooftops and nab a few evildoers... More likely, dole out a few pills and drive home in the dark. But I'll think of you as I gad about with grace and lark. Love, James

Dear Juliet I'm worried... Should I be more assertive, should I be more pious and ethical, should I be more kind? I think kind wins it. I can't go around telling you what to do, but on the other hand it's all relatively simple. And if I don't you may end up stuck like Norma Desmond in some sordid mansion just off Sunset Boulevard... And yet I can't just tell you to call me so we can discuss it... It's a real Catch-22 situation. To be, or not to be, that is the question...  All right, all right... I don't think you should suffer many more of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, though letting them instead whistle  like the forlorn wind  past your cheek and by such opposition ending them may seem harder than scaling the world's highest, harshest peak. Will's going to have my guts for garters for that one... Well, I'll give voice to a little risk: you can call me if you like, but not if you don't want to. And no, the shoe won't dro...

Dear Juliet I think something's bugging you, but I'm not sure what. So, basics: You're fine and safe, even if you fuck up. Translation: I like you just the way you are, even if you can on occasion be a bit of a noodle. I don't sum up your value as a human being based on your most recent review. There's no catch, the shoe won't drop. That's why I used the Rocky II analogy. "If you wanna blow this thing, dammit I'm gonna blow it with you. You wanna stay here, I'll stay with you." That's all there is to it. You don't have to explain or justify yourself. I'm not your judge and no one has the right to be. I know a lot about you and I like you for yourself, good and bad. Take all the time you need. Now, I don't know if the thought of Dear Miss Landau /Dru Quartet-related possibilities are tearing you to pieces. I wrote them, so I'll tell you: don't worry about it. Take forever if you'd like. Incidentally, as a matter...

Dear Juliet I was just thinking of you, Vegas, the night, the music and the thousands upon thousands of Star Trek fans; and found myself a bit amused to remember that way back near the start of the blogs, I mentioned that I hoped "you weren't finding all the Star Trek analogies a little confusing..." I suppose all my references were only a drop in the ocean compared to five rumbustious nights trekkin' 'cross the Vegasverse...   Must have been a veritable forest of Spock ears... Sorry, this is bringing out my British tendency to take the piss but I suppose there's a serious subject lurking up my Jeffries tubes. I don't tend to talk politics much on here, but I just picked up that Las Vegas, pound for pound, has had some of the biggest losses in tourist revenue in America . And it looks like L.A. has had it nearly as bad . I do keep an eye on these things. I hope you'll be okay. And Trump's also pissed off Canada again... Perhaps one should ask whe...

Dear Juliet Here's a selection of other photographs from London, and I got a programme about Mockingbird for you from the Wyndham. Couple of candid shots somewhere ca. Seven Dials... Different angle on Trafalgar Square, with St. Martin-in-the-Fields in the background (it appeared at the start of Lawrence of Arabia ): And I see you went to a Star Trek convention in Vegas? Well, thanks for reading my blogs while you were there. I don't know if you saw the Starbucks patio on Fremont Street, but the oddest image came to mind. You quietly reading a blog of mine on your smartphone, leaning on a wall at night with the Strat in the distance and the Enterprise  high in the sky, top left... And your smartphone is flipped open like an original series communicator. I got a shot of the Strat back in 2010: Just a creative thought, although they considered building a life-size Enterprise hotel there in 1992: For now, I guess the Queen Mary will do... Love, James

Dear Juliet Risked the train going to London on the 18th (seats were like hard benches from the nineteen-thirties, complete with large spikes), but it was still warm in London town with the buzz of the city around me and opportunities at large. This quote on the side of a train at Euston somewhat summed it up: Helped an older lady find her way to Waterloo. She was a literary fan, told her she was sitting next to an author, made her day... Henry Pordes had a new/old copy of Cannery Row (1945) in, the Tartt was still on the shelves and I saw The Usual Suspects! Then I walked down towards Wyndham and Garrick theatres, and stumbled upon the one play in London I really did want to see. So here comes my confession. I got a ticket for Aaron Sorkin's To Kill a Mockingbird . Royal Circle, F26. And here's the thing, wherein lies the conscience of the king... I know you're a stage actress at heart, and of course I'd have casually told anyone who asked that you love the tread of t...

Dear Juliet Back from New Cross (ducks sent their love), just running/stumbling out to work, will cobble together something vaguely resembling a blog post when I get back... I haven't forgotten about you. Love, James

Dear Juliet I'm afraid I've got to go to New Cross to have my heart checked (think it's still beating), then I got blackmailed into doing a shift tonight. I'll probably climb Bridgnorth's steps again out of sheer cussedness. I'm sorry I don't have time to talk now and tell you more, but it was a good trip. The photos are still in rough cut, but I think I've got one candid shot I'll call "The Usual Suspects!" I hope you're okay? Love for today, James

Dear Juliet Just to mention I'm back. A bit bleary as I stayed out in Soho too late, but I'll write in more detail later. Don't think I've brought the British government down this time... Are you okay? 🤗 Love, James On the way there...

Dear Juliet Just heading off, and I realised I hadn't given you a hug in a while. So... 🤗 Hope you enjoyed it! Love, James

Dear Juliet Just to be sure you know I'm away 18th-20th August, hopefully bringing down the British government again, probably going to Henry Pordes and keeping an eye out for Tartts! Usual contact details . Earliest contact details . I don't think I included my email address, so: james.christie466@btinternet.com And I'll just ask: Photo of Dear Miss Landau in front of something historic? Actually, that's pretty much a given... T-shirt from London? Something for Romana from The Who Shop ? And here's an excerpt from Redemption about Drusilla in London... It wasn’t her London, Dru knew that. But some sights and sounds had a faint and shadowy familiarity. She had been in and out of London with William a number of times over the last hundred and twenty years, sometimes psychotic and babbling, at other times half-lucid and aware. She had seen the city change from a soot-blackened slum of sweating brickwork on the shores of the Thames, wreathed in murky fog which tore ...

Dear Juliet I'd had a serious and supportive thought for the start of this one, then several other things impinged (looks like you looked at five blogs of mine about Point Lobos last night?) and I had a Thelma & Louise moment, perhaps mixed with Galaxy Quest ... Well, it all works off the supportive thought, which is this: As I understand it, children of narcissists often think they need someone's permission to do stuff. No you don't. You're free. I think I'll just repeat that. You. Are. Free. Obviously, don't go all Thelma and Louise . There are laws and social norms. But you are absolutely free to pursue life, liberty and happiness. Like, really. I'd just been thinking about the Carmel River Inn myself. Seems like they've also got a Morning Joy Café these days and there's a Safeway across the road. Monastery's nearby. You also seem to get really good rates if you stay Sunday to Thursday. And that's the thing. If you just want to take...