Saturday 20 February 2010

OH NO - FIVE O!

21st February


It's happened. How did it happen? One minute I'm celebrating my fortieth birthday and then, what seems like a couple of months later, I'm hitting fifty.

Forties suited me. I enjoyed being forty-something. I can honestly say that some of my happiest years have been in the last decade. My baby-making days were over, I could just enjoy my children.

I experienced the classic mid-life crisis of re-inventing myself. When the kids began school I threw off my leggings and sweats and went shopping for some REAL CLOTHES. I dyed my hair blond. I enjoyed having some time to look after ME again as well as my children. Gone were those all-consuming baby days. I picked up my writing ambitions again, started community theatre again, began to feel much more confident.

Fifty doesn't feel like that. I'm telling myself to be excited by it and embrace it, but I have a feeling I might be just fooling myself.

Ah well, there's nothing I can DO about it, so I'm just going to enjoy celebrating tomorrow with family and friends and smile as I indulge myself by telling you about three people in the public eye that share my birthday. I'm ridiculously chuffed that they celebrate the same birthday as me as they have all influenced me in some way, and I very much admire all three.





Kelsey Grammer who, as Frasier Crane, has kept me laughing for nearly half my life. When Cheers finished it was hard to imagine another sit-com being as enjoyable and enduring, but Frasier came along and I was bowled over by the wonderful scripts and impeccable performances. To have just a drop of that talent ... It fired my enthusiasm and encouraged me to try my hand at script-writing. I may not have an ounce of the talent that obviously filled the Frasier script-writing room, but I've had such fun trying.


Jilly Cooper - I read my first Jilly Cooper back in 1988. It was Riders and the overwhelming feeling I got as I devoured the book was 'what fun Jilly must have had writing this'. I wanted to experience that fun, too. So Jilly is entirely responsible for setting me on the writing path, and although I now realise what incredibly hard work goes into writing a novel, I'm still convinced that Jilly's sense of fun exudes from the pages of her books and in turn has given me enormous fun writing my own stories. I met Jilly at a book signing years ago. After shaking her hand, I went straight home and wrote with my 'Jilly-vibed' hand!


What can I say? Just, 'thank you, Mr. Rickman, for being born'! Alan Rickman has my complete admiration as an actor. I am constantly fascinated how he can take an ordinary sentence, put emphasis on a word no one else would dream of emphasising, and make the line sound not only totally convincing but bloody fantastic at the same time. His delivery has caused me to look at my own performances to see what I can bring to them. I'm in total awe of his talent. Ruby Wax once said '(Alan) has this sex thing he switches on when he walks on stage' and I have to agree. I once met him at a charity function. He is a very polite, unassuming gentleman, but on stage... WHOA! I'm watching - and I'm liquid!

And they're all older than me!

As I celebrate the very last day of my forties, I send you blessings,

Andi xx
(Jilly photo by Yui Mok. Frasier and Alan Rickman - credits not found)



15 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday! Don't worry about the number,it's how you feel that matters.Oh and I loved 'Cheers' too!Great characters and acting.

    Bellaboo:o)

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  2. I never really gave importance to the numbers in my birthdays except when I turned 50. I was totally overwhelmed. I spent days looking back at my life and all the things I had not done, etc., but slowly and with the wisdom of my years (no pun intended) I decided to stop the "looking back" and start looking forward. Hope you get over turning 50 asap and focus on being the wonderful, nutty, lady you are and will always be. Happy Birthday Andi! xx
    Alan Rickman...his voice alone makes me feel 15 :0)

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  3. You will LOVE your fifties, they are fabbo! I felt diffident about forty, but fifty was great and getting better every year. My motto...Embrace your geezerhood!

    And I'm with you swooning over Mr. R...

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  4. Happy Birthday for tomorrow!

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  5. Have a wonderful day tomorrow, even if you are not sure about the 5 0, lol! I have never worried about my age, numbers really don't mean anything at all. Think young thoughts, laugh a lot, do silly things and you'll always feel young. Hmm, not sure that advice would get universal approval, lolol, but it works for me.

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  6. Happy Birthday, hun!! It will be me there next year!!
    Have a lovely day!!

    Sharon xx

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  7. Just gotta embrace your inner crone... have a lovely birthday weekend, special times with M and the children, then get that profile re written on Monday.
    Definitely good times and plenty of'em ahead.
    Stay nifty!

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  8. Happy Birthday! Have a fantastic day. I'm sure your 50's will be just as enjoyable as your 40's!
    x

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  9. Happy birthday, I wish you much love and happiness! Yes, I have been there too, it seems like a blink of the eye since I was having my 40th and now I have just had my 52nd! I didn't mind at all turning 50 though, as at the age of 45/46 I was diagnosed with cancer, so reaching 50 was GREAT!!!! The way I look at it is that every birthday means that we are still here to enjoy life. Each wrinkle is a gift and shows us how we have got to this day. Really really enjoy your celebrations! suzie. xxx

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  10. Hello Andi

    Happy Birthday. I am approaching my mis forties, I don't know how I'll feel about it when I eventually turn 50. Like you, I have thought of all the people in their 50's, 60's and older who are a real inspiration! It's up to us to make it want we want it to be...

    Take care
    Isabelle x

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  11. Happy Birthday! I've got the big 50 coming up in just over two years time. I'm certainly not going to worry about it or start doing the kind of things parents and in-laws did in their fifties. Can't agree with you more about Mr Rickman.....yummy.

    Tracey

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  12. Belated Happy Birthday Andi - hope it wasn't too hard for you!
    Definitely with you on the Alan Rickman thing!
    Thanks for your words of encouragement on my blog - definitely going to take your advice! Itching to get to the beach and go 'treasure hunting' again! x

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  13. Happy Birthday, Andi!
    Hope you've had a fabby time celebrating and received lots of treats and goodies!
    I totally agree about the forties - my favourite decade so far, having reached the half-way point!
    Thank you for Alan Rickman - I love his voice... such a gorgeous sexy man!
    D x

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  14. Congratulations to you!

    Those fabulous people show that their truly is life, talent,skill and intelligent interaction of and with vital and dynamic people, well after your forties!..,

    I just celebrated my 50th on Valentines day of this year and celebrated with dinner out at a fab restaurant, as well as,(earlier in the day), enjoying an afternoon tea at home with 15 of my closest friends..,

    Speaking of 'afternoon tea', you are most warmly invited to enjoy 'a cyber afternoon tea' at Silken Purse blog for, "Wednesday Tea For Me And Thee", blog tea party my dear!..,

    Cheers from Wanda Lee

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I'd be really pleased to hear from you.