Thank goodness that heatwave seems to have almost passed – even though I have lived here 18 years I don’t think I have ever experienced temperatures like that in LA before. I’m sure it is lovely if you are on vacation, but no fun at all if you have stuff to do. I tried to be good with electricity, as I know from the past that power outages occur when everyone cranks up the air conditioning on the same grid – but even so, I didn’t escape and had a blackout for at least six hours.
Fortunately I had saved the DWP phone number to my address book – a good tip for you all as there is no chance of looking it up on the internet. Your provider could be Edison or DWP so check your bill then save their emergency number.
The temporary dark cloud had a silver lining – as I met one of my neighbors who turned out to be absolutely lovely.
Yvette who is 89 has lived on the street for approximately 60 years but for one reason or another we had never met. The lack of electricity set her burglar alarm off and in a panic she pressed the emergency button – the local fireman came up to her rescue but of course there was nothing they could do. I happened to be outside when they arrived and they asked me if I knew Yvette; to which I replied no. Poor Yvette, was scared and alone and had no family or friends locally, so city protocol dictates that her only option was to be transported to hospital if she wasn’t comfortable in the darkness. Sorry if this seems a little long-winded – but the outcome was that we all made sure she was okay. She didn’t have to get carted off to hospital unnecessarily as I said I would keep an eye on here: and we both made a new friend to boot! The point of this story is to remind us all to get to know our neighbors – I just assumed the ‘elderly lady across the street’ had plenty of friends and now feel slightly ashamed that I never bothered to check.
“Neighbours” is a bit of a theme this week as fortunately for England our friends to the north opted to stay part of the United Kingdom. I do ultimately believe we are all “better together” but on the other side, think that every country should be independently run. Perhaps even every American state should consider going solo… however, the world is quite chaotic at the moment so I think it is probably wise for all to stay united until everything settles down.
I hear there may be another referendum in New Zealand in 2015: it must be contagious!
I am sure it isn’t the first time we have said it but there is some great theatre to be had in LA. It wasn’t always the case but now it is time to put that image to bed. I have seen some fantastic performances over the last few months. At the top of my list has to be Erin Gavin as Marilyn Monroe in “Marilyn My Secret” which has sadly to come to the end of its run – however watch this space as it gets revived every now and then. Was also delighted to hear that Noel Coward’s ‘The Vortex’ will be coming to Hollywood – however they need your help to make this happen. Click THIS LINK – to show you how to donate.
If you can help – not only are you supporting the arts, but you are also showing your love to Brits in LA founder, Craig Bobby Young, who is one of the stars of the show.
Goodbye Marilyn was another play I got to see recently – it runs through mid October and is written and directed by last week’s featured Meet A Member, Michael Phillips! Sundays are ‘pay what you can’ so if whether it is a penny or $100 that you have to spare you will be welcomed with open arms.
We have our Dead British Halloween party on October 31st – tickets go on sale this week so make sure to grab yours whilst you can. If you miss out you’ll be…erm…dead sorry.
Have a great week!
Cheers
Eileen
