Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner that I feel extraordinarily saddened by the terror attack that occurred in Westminster this week. It didn’t seem to take precedence in the media here, and in the scheme of things I don’t think it would be unfair to say that this was a fairly minor event.
But seeing the people on the streets of my home town running selflessly to tend to the injured, whilst I sit here ‘safely’ in Los Angeles felt very wrong. The images had me wishing I could be there to help in some way, even if it is was just to keep my chin up and carry on. My heart hurt when I read the story of PC Keith Palmer who sadly lost his life whilst ‘just doing his job’ of protecting our city. It must take immense courage to confront a knife-wielding maniac in the hope of protecting others from getting hurt. I dread to think how difficult it is for his colleagues who choose to continue to go to work, not knowing what the coming days will entail.
With all the nuttiness going on around the world I took extra comfort in having family visit. My sister Sally is here and we joined forces with Craig and his troop for dinner. We went to the infamous restaurant Pump in West Hollywood . It really is such a lovely setting, very similar decor to Sur on Robertson, which are both owned by fellow Brit Lisa Vanderpump. I had no idea that their fame had reached Britain until I caught Craig’s cousin Barbara on a bit of a Vanderhunt.
If you haven’t been yet, I highly recommend stopping by for a cheeky Pump-tini. They have a decent Happy Hour too Mon-Thurs 5-7pm and Fri-Sat. 4-6pm. Visit pumprestaurant.com for full details. And just to show what a small world it is, I just discovered that the proprietor of this very newspaper used to work for Lisa’s husband Ken Todd in a South London wine bar many moons ago. Talk about six degrees of separation!
I am lucky enough to have made lots of good friends in Los Angeles. Many of whom I feel are extended family, including my old neighbors and fellow Brits in LA Jim and Laura Tavaré. As many of you know Jim was involved in a near fatal accident a couple of weeks ago – I am delighted to say he is slowly on the mend but due to his extensive injuries he has had to cancel an upcoming comedy tour, so not only will he be saddled with huge medical bills but his income is going to be limited for quite some time – which brings me to the GoFundMe page his mate Jim Perry has set up. If you can even donate a $1 I know it will be very much appreciated, imagine if all 11,000 Brits in LA members did this the target could be reached tomorrow! Plus you will be in great company, as I noticed many of his fellow comedians including Dawn French and Lee Mack have already chipped in. Visit www.gofundme.com/JimTavare for details and if you can’t spare anything perhaps just leave a message of support.
Keep vigilant and let’s all try and be a bit kinder to one another by spreading a bit of love to counteract all the horrid stuff going on in the world.
Come and join us next Tuesday for our weekly Breakfast Club at Cecconi’s presented with Air New Zealand if you fancy a cuppa and a chat – they even serve proper Heinz Baked beans! Details can be found at www.britsin.la or drop me a line at eileen@britsin.la if you feel a bit daunted by showing up alone for the first time.
Cheers!
Eileen
