By now most of you are probably headed back to the motherland for the holidays, for those that remain, enjoy L.A. in its former glory – where freeways will be mildly empty, and better still, no lines in the supermarket checkout. It truly will take only twenty minutes to get from Hollywood to Santa Monica beach or the opposite way to downtown.
Speaking of DTLA. My, has that changed in a heartbeat! Hustling and bustling, seriously becoming the “It” place to be. I lived down there in the year 2000 and it was a ghost town. Not any more. On Sunday, I visited something called “Smorgasburg”; a collection of pop-up food vendors, from lobster to tracos, cool clothing stores in camper vans and vintage books. It’s open every Sunday, 10am-4pm, on the five-acre site of the weekday Alameda Produce Market in downtown Los Angeles. It’s part of a brand new development called ROW DTLA (785 Bay St., Los Angeles, CA 90021) with two hours free parking.
I also checked out Residence, a small music venue for live bands, with a courtyard with food trucks and fireplaces. Also for the LGBT community and allies there are a few gay bars that have popped up, Precinct (357 S. Broadway,) a bit of a spit-and sawdust club. Bar Mattachine (221 W. 7th St,) has a more upscale martini bar feel and the newly opened Redline (131 E. 6th St,) is a ‘see and be seen’ kind of place, all peacocks welcomed. Last month I was invited to the opening of Proper English, A throw back to British Northern Soul run by Brits in LA member Trevor Miller, located in the basement of the Continental Hotel (116 W. 4th St.) Great British DJs and tons of Brits and Anglophiles. They are having a special Christmas Eve bash which promises to be loads of fun.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me, we finally wrapped principal photography on @asst_ my comedy pilot that some of you donated to our fundraiser earlier in the year, so thanks to you, we pulled it off – the footage has now gone off to the editor in NYC and we should have something to look at mid- January. One of our backers was Martin Lee White, who got himself a speaking part in the film playing an American cop. His accent was pretty spot-on, he also came along and helped out on set for the three days too, as did many Brits in LA members, which I’m extremely grateful for. It truly took a village.…
And of course after our successful, fun-filled Christmas dinner party last week, I was fortunate enough to be invited to Consul-General Chris O’Connor’s Hancock Park residence for mulled wine, mince pies and caroling, where Victoria Summer, Nigel Daly and Gustaf Farwell led us all in some wonderful Christmastime carols. It was great to see so many friends there. Fiona and Alan Harden with their son Alexander. The newly-appointed head of the BABC, Fiona Francois, with her husband Eric and two delightful children. Actress Sabra Williams and her Husband Yogi. Eileen and I also enjoyed the annual office party lunch at the Consulate’s offices in Century City. It was great to see Caroline, Bernie, Alison and Barbara among others and get to bring in a little Christmas cheer. I was also happy to meet Sue Masters, who is the current president for “The British Home in California” the venerable retirement complex in Sierra Madre. I was intrigued to find out about all the good work they do. So look out for us doing more charitable work with those folks in the New Year.
Both Eileen and I wish you a very merry Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hannukah and all those other wonderful collective holidays we all celebrate.
Cheers and Seasons Greetings!
Craig Young
