Hello Breeps!
Well that’s it for the play – “The Vortex” finished its brief run in Malibu at the weekend and it was a personal high for me. I would have never have thought back when I was ten years old growing up on a council estate in Nottingham that one day I would be on stage in California starring in a Noel Coward play reciting The Master’s words. Thank you to director Gene Franklin Smith for believing in me and giving me this incredible experience. Thank you to the outpouring of support also from so many Brits in LA members who came to support is. Work surely begets work as I’ve also been busy shooting a guest episode on a new series called “Hit The Floor” for VH1 which starts airing on Memorial Day. I just wrapped five commercials for a Tier One brand that I can’t mention yet and my film Return to The Hiding Place has just been released in eight cities around the country. Not LA yet I’m afraid! – They are planning on September sometime. Stay tuned…
Bloomin’ lovely
Spring is a great time for all things new, so we decided to redo our garden in Hollywood. I’ve always wanted something of an English country garden and luckily we have quite a bit of shade so are able to grow roses and apple trees and complete it with cobblestone pathways we managed to get started. I’m also planting some herbs and growing strawberries and tomatoes. I discovered this great invention while at Soho House in West Hollywood called Woolypockets.com (see image). You basically fill each pocket with soil, visit your local farmers market or Home Depot and ask advice on what best to plant to fit your area – shady, direct sunlight, morning sun, etc… and start planting. It makes for a great view outside a dull window – who wants to stare at a fence or the side of the next door building anyhow?
Caveat emptor
We had a very serious situation within the Brits in LA community this past week. A very charming individual took it upon himself to start swindling people out of money by pretending to be an immigration lawyer and taking deposits up front. Pretending he had apartments to rent to Brits coming over, taking their money and days before people were due to travel canceled and claimed that he had refunded them, blaming banks, deaths in his family, black widow spiders infestation, the lies got worse and bigger and bigger. He ended up getting caught by credit card fraud, allegedly using a credit card to impress a girl up in Santa Barbara. People trusted this man in our community, lending him their cars, phones, money, and even letting him stay in their homes, all the while he was stealing. His past came back to bite him this week and everyone who has been cheated by him, banded together to share our stories.
It is still shocking to me that this con-man pulled the wool over so many of our eyes and for so long. However because we are so tight-knit we were able to stop this gentleman’s actions from traveling any further. I was saddened to hear story after story about his deceit once I had raised the issue on our Facebook page. Moral of my story: be careful whom you trust, whom you let into your home and your life because they may not be all they are cracked up to be. Stay aware and vigilant and feel free to ask questions and share your stories. If someone is doing you wrong they are probably doing it to others too. So always share information. However the perpetrator has been removed from all groups and has been reported to all the correct authorities. But the beauty of social networks is that bad eggs are usually quickly revealed for all to see. Even if they leave a bad smell behind them…
World Cup viewing parties
And we’ll end with a bit of good news – We have teamed up with BAFTA/LA and will be launching our World Cup Headquarters at Mixology at The Grove. All details are on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/britslovela) under events. It’s hard to believe 1966 was the last time we won – Come on England, surely we can do it this year (here’s hoping!)
Cheers!
Craig
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