And last Sunday, she and I were running for CANCER RESEARCH UK
Southampton Common was sunlit and beautiful and the atmosphere was amazing - with masses of people joining in this very worthwhile fundraiser. Some of the stories we heard were heartbreaking; all of them were inspiring. It made me realise how much in life we take for granted.
(WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU WANT TO KNOW OUR TIME?) Okay, then - it was a perfectly respectable 5 kilometres in 26 minutes (though Celia did a sprint finish ahead of me!).
And now I'm getting stuck into my Russian hero (in a manner of speaking) - who lives in the most sumptuous house in the south of France. I've based it on the fabulous Rothschild Villa - which has possibly the most stunning location in the world. In fact, just looking at it makes my mouth water.
What property has made you swoon with delight?
Dear Sharon
ReplyDeleteFascinating reading how your imagined locations are based on real (although out of this world) places. I'm undertaking a study on settings and constructed romantic landscapes in fiction as part of my MA studies in creative writing and film. Nancy Meyer's films - The Holiday, It's Complicated etc - are particularly interesting for this! (See the NY Times article jump-linked in the Profile header above).
I would love to hear how you and your fellow bloggers and commenters go about creating the perfect house for their heroes and heroines.
Many thanks
Lucian
It's great fun to create a house from the imagination (even more fun is when you invent whole countries!) - but I do like to get inspired by a real-life version. Hence the shuttered house in Avignon I saw in May or the crumbled splendour and amazing gardens of Nymans which I visited recently and shall blog about soon.
ReplyDeleteFrank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater" in Western Pennsylvania has to be my choice.
ReplyDeleteThe structure seems to be an extension of nature rather than just skillfully integrated with it.
Wright's studio is in nearby Oak Park, Illinois and so are many of his completed projects, but Fallingwater will always be my favorite...
Here's the Wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallingwater
Oh! And well done on your helping hand to Cancer Research. You and your daughter deserve congratulations. A worthy cause indeed.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you and your daughter had a great "Race For Life". I did it in early May and had a fab time with friends and family supporting me. Although I have to admit my time was a lot slower than yours! And in answer to your question, I think the 7 star hotel in Dubai is amazing. They even have a "menu" for different sorts of pillows! Caroline x
ReplyDeleteDan, Fallingwater looks WONDERFUL - and so is the name - which suits it perfectly. My house doesn't have a name and it set me wondering what I might call it if I was going to have a descriptive title.....
ReplyDeleteAnd Caroline, a 7 star hotel is so DECADENT! Though it probably wouldn't suit me - I have enough trouble deciding which breakfast cereal to buy - and if I had to extend that choice to what I put my head on at night I would go bananas!