Farewell Dame Elizabeth Taylor

Liz Taylor
When Liz auditioned for "National Velvet", she was told she was too short for the part.  Being the determined person she was, she started doing serious stretching excercises to make herself taller.   Whether it worked, or whether she was given the role anyway, I don't know, but apparently that is why she's had back problems all her life.

Quotes
Mark Twain is a fantastic source for quotes.   Here are three of my favourites:

• Golf is a good walk spoiled
• Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to
• Familiarity breed contempt - and children

Here's one I think was said by Winston Churchill when asked why he had no vases of flowers in his house.
"I love flowers.  I also love children, but I don't cut their heads off and stand them in buckets of water."

Five minutes of fame
Before Australian Idol there was "Junior Stairway to the Stars, hosted by Channel 7 here in Perth.  It was 1961, I had just turned 15, and fancied myself as a singer.  I couldn't have been too bad, because I passed the audition singing Noeline Batley's hit "Barefoot Boy".   Before I knew it, I found myself with five or six other young hopefuls on television.
The concept of the program was much simpler than Idol.  We had one audition, and one TV appearance; that was it, unless you won on the day, then you appeared on the final show.  There were no recording contracts, or national concerts, just the thrill of appearing on TV.
I didn't win, but I did have a stroke of luck.  A friend of my father had a tape recorder (no such thing as videos back then).  This wonderful friend taped me singing "Angel on My Shoulder" on the show, and had it made into a record for me!   Although it rarely sees the light of day, I still have it as a souvenir of my younger days.

This photo was taken just before I left home to appear on "Junior Stairway to the Stars".   Such a serious look on my face.  I was probably very nervous.

Need or Want?

I've been looking over this site lately -  http://www.missminimalist.com/  - and it got me wondering just how much "stuff" we have that we don't really need.  When I was younger (a lot younger) I had a friend who's mother was a single mother with three girls to support.  When I visisted them one day before Christmas, I saw a list on the wall, with the girl's names on it, and two columns under each name - the column headings were "want" and "need".  This was the girls' Christmas lists.  As money was short, their presents were usually something they needed, rather than something they just wanted.  Actually, in those days, a lot of families were the same.  There just wasn't the money to buy expensive unnecessary items.  I've taken a lot of "things" to the op shop over the last few months, as I look around and see just how much I have that I really don't need.  How much "stuff" do you have packed away in boxes, or in the top of your wardrobes, that never see the light of day?  Do you really NEED this stuff, or would it be more useful to someone else?  Something to think about.

Another anon quote for you:  "You can't have everything; where would you put it?"

And finally, Don't take life too seriously.  Nobody makes it out alive anyway!