darlings

not everyone has an effect.

you know – on other people.

we Thought we did, once.

and then we forgot and became all Self-Involved (not pretty) and sort of scared and looking-behind-us and protecting-our-back and, we became – we hate to admit it, but here it is –  Not especially Kind.

and then we – you know - we found ourselves lying on a gurney waiting to be operated-on (who knew there were That many people Needed in an Operating Theatre for one poor throat and three Tumors – we sort of miss Tobias and-his-sisters, as weird as that is to say) and Everything Changed.

and it’s not who we are in RL (although from time to time SHE has been pretty fabulous, we have to admit), but our GLORIA-ous-ness has started to have Quite an Effect.

in the past few days we’ve had Lovely people say things to us (via the clever Interweb) like this:

do you remember when we had tea last year and you said “when’s your next massage and when’s your next vacation?” and we couldn’t answer you?

yes. (gulp) hope we weren’t Mean-n-pushy about it.

not at all. well, the thing is – we thought about what you said and we booked a Road Trip with a jeep so we could Ride with the Top Down and everything and, well, thank you.

gosh.

here’s another one – someone we love Very Much is in Vegas (don’t judge, lady – they have to – for business purposes) and they emailed us to say this:

you know how you really take care of yourself? well we just had a 90 minute massage and the best roast beef sandwich ever.

(darling, if you’re reading this – we do hope you don’t mind us quoting you – tell us if you do and we’ll SNIP instantly and re-publish – it just really affected us in a beautiful way).

which is all Rather Delicious and lovely.

and someone else Very Glam sent a small note to say that as-soon-as-they-can they’re going to book-something-lovely for themselves (and DO, dear one, you know how crAZy that place is ;-)

so there you go.

nice effects all round.

which brings us to the book. 

now – if you’re a Writer – and several of you (that we know) Are.

especially George.

can we digress a tiny bit?

this is the Postcard/flyer for George’s new book (which he’s Almost Finished and we seriously hope that Celia saves the day – fingers Crossed).

isn’t it delicious (and rather sexy if we do say so…..blush)?

so back to us (grin).

the book. our book.

here’s the bit we wrote about Looking After Yourself (well, the whole book is about finding the beautiful in small things and self-care) but here are the two questions we always ask people………ready?

Tip #8: Answer Two Questions: every time I saw a co-worker by the coffee/tea/hot chocolate/strange soda machine at the office look tired and frazzled, I’d say, “answer two questions: when is your next massage and when is your next vacation?” Sometimes people would look annoyed (hey, their problem, not mine – if you stopped me by the coffee machine I could always tell you – Tuesday and Los Angeles in February) but it got around and people started to anticipate me. And those that never had a massage booked or a holiday planned? Yeah, I gave them a wide berth after a while. You need to plan things to make you feel good. Martyrdom is so unattractive.

so – go on – answer those two questions for yourself – and write us a note in the bit below, you know, for Comments (we adore comments).

did we tell you that Our Book is Being Read Right Now by a Publisher (they have an Exclusive Window – which apparently doesn’t mean a Very Special View but a period of time to consider……you knew that, didn’t you?)

exciting.

and a bit shivery.

and Someone Else (rather splendid in themselves and in the Movie Industry) is reading gloria. the movie.

oh yes, there’s a gloria-movie – didn’t we mention that?

Gloria |

Gloria is a trainee angel, who hasn’t done her homework.

So when she arrives in Manhattan to rescue her first assignment, things go terribly wrong.

would you like a Sneak Preview?

ok.

just don’t tell anyone…..

it’s from Near the End….

a bit from the beginning?

sure (as the Americans say).

can’t you just picture Elle Fanning as gloria?

and Anna Kendrick for Anna (won’t be hard for her to picture herself as an Anna, non?) and plus she is VERY funny (and smart and thoughtful and meaningful) in Pitch Perfect - please go and see it – it’s delicious.

George has been thinking about casting (it’s Rather Fun) for his book.

so there you have it.

gloria is a blog, a book and a movie.

and she’s having a wonderful effect on people.

including us.

(that was a bit post-irony but you know what we mean, non?)

so – 2 Questions – please answer in the bit below, darlings……

1. When is your next massage? (and we mean at a Spa type facility, not a guy-that-pops-round that you-might-be-dating – thank you..)

2. When is your next vacation/holiday/mini-break?

answers on a postcard.

(actually we really love getting post so do, if you know us, in RL)

or, you know, in the bit below.

lovely.