Oscar Balls

Oscar balloons... who knew?

Yesterday silly TLOML naively asked the Ralph's checkout girl, 'What are the black and yellow balloons for?'
'Oscar parties!' she said, adding an unspoken 'you fools' with her eyes.
'Oh', said TLOML, who doesn't care that we appear to be country bumpkins in glamorous Malibu. I have already ruined our reputation with my daily bike ride (only the homeless, and large gangs of California fitties wearing Tour De France outfits cycle on PCH. And me.). 'What's with the black and yellow then? Is that this year's Oscar colour?'
The checkout girl rolled her eyes so far they nearly bounced out of her bulging head. 'Black and gold are the Oscar colours every year.'

That told us. Judging by the large volumes of Oscar balloons Ralph's was shifting, we should have known that on Oscar night the only sensible thing to do was to watch the Oscars. Instead we took his aunt out for dinner, to Comme Ca. Comme Ca is one of our very favourite LA restaurants, for the cocktail mixer's excellent way with a Perfect Manhattan (for me) and an Aviation (for TLOML), and for the fabulous cheese selection presented by the shyly flamboyant Anthony. It is a good WeHo hotspot and usually jampacked with bright young things. Busy busy and noisy in a good way. Not on Oscar night. What dumbos we felt, sidling up and saying 'we have a reservation' - in an empty restaurant. The upside was that our cocktails arrived in record time. And no, since you ask, they did not have black and gold balloons festooning the place. Rebels!

On the drive home we noticed how completely deserted the streets were, too. Which made me wonder: does everyone single person in LA have such a close and intimate connection with the movie industry that they absolutely can't do anything except watch the Oscars? Why, I know it ain't so! I know a doctor, and a lawyer, and a cupcake maker, and a man who works in a liquor store and all manner of people who are not remotely connected with the movie industry in LA. And yet everyone watches the Oscars. It's like if everyone in NY paused and listened out for the Trading Floor Bell, or in London everyone is going to Will & Kate's wedding this year (I await my invitation). No, it's just silliness, plenty of people are staying in to watch the Oscars when frankly it's no more their business than my Geordie Auntie Milly's.

Still, in the heart of 'The Industry', it doesn't do to ignore the Oscars. You end up dining alone. Lesson learnt.

An inconsolable Isadora on discovering the balloons have all sold out!

As I began this blog post, craving some good Northern commonsense, I tuned via the miracle of the interweb, to Radio Humberside where my good friend Rob Cowen played his brilliant single, The Heartland (Q's track of the day, no less), and a brilliant cover of Maggie May, one of my secret running playlist tracks. Not so secret now I guess. Oh well, I'm tired of hiding my love of early Rod from the world. You too can hear the dulcet Yorkshire tones of Rob Cowen ont' radio. (Listen from 9m 48s for the good stuff).

 Tha'll be reet.