Do you like what you do each day?

'The Thinker' - Auguste Rodin

Do you like what you do each day? I asked myself this a few years ago - having had a very successful 30 year career in advertising and marketing non stop.

I began to realize it was time to realign my goals with what's on the inside now. I wanted my career path to better reflect the values closest to my heart. I wanted time to set new goals differently and to listen to that inner voice of mine and to find a new career that was fulfilling and meaningful. Don't get me wrong I was always pretty headstrong about being true to myself, my values and my drivers and I had much to be happy about and producing had been my first love, but you move on - time, you and goals change..........

I do think knowing that I was on the right track for me, doing what I had been put here for and to believe that you will only be truly satisfied when you find your place in the world was important. That is the place where your skills, ability, personality and dreams all come together. I'd found that in producing - I loved it - but it was now time to set new goals which might include producing skills too! There was a need to connect to other personal talents and passions.

I found clearing space in my head was very important, to think clearly, dream, make concrete plans and also just to have restful thoughts was very beneficial. I would often have to physically remove myself from my house/environment in order to get the space and peace I needed - phones, e-mail, household noise are very distracting from deeper thoughts. I found reading books like 'Finding Your Element' by Sir Ken Robinson helpful - he shows that age and occupation are no barriers to discovering what makes us happiest and once we have found our path we can help others to do so as well. The breakthroughs that happen in our lives are the breakthroughs that happen within us.

Being good at something is not enough, you have to have a natural aptitude for it and you have to love it! I believe the new celebrities are the one's who inspire, who know how to link the inner world with the outer world and who make our lives richer in the deepest sense of the word. Those who inspire by speaking with feeling - from the heart, moving others emotionally, perhaps moving them to action, to change or to happiness. That's where my new career began...........

As Sir Ken Robinson says: "Recognizing your own dreams and the conditions you need to fulfill them are essential to becoming who you can be. It will give you a deeper sense of who you really are and the life you could and maybe should live."

I'm now inspiring other people to find their element and much more too! I love being involved in The Arts - hugely important to my spirit and soul, being positive in a negatively orientated world and stepping outside your comfort zone are all important and treating self-doubt as a hurdle to overcome, not a stop sign!

'What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"  -  Ralph Waldo Emerson

The visual is of course Auguste Rodin 'The Thinker' which I have always loved - very powerful isn't it? (Two early casts of The Thinker have just sold in New York on May 8th 2013 to a private collector for £10.3 million - a record price - you see always a marketing girl!)

The Human Spirit!

I was invited to a wonderful and joyous evening of the London book launch of a friend's old school friend from Phillips Academy Andover and Yale last week. Gerry Shea has written an inspirational book called 'Song Without Words' because in his mid-thirties - despite having achieved a stellar career in law - discovered he'd been partially (not completely) deaf since the age of 6 years when he'd contracted scarlet fever. The scarlet fever had damaged some of the epithelial cells of his inner ear which evidently once wilted never grow back so this had affected his hearing deeply.  However, he was not conscious of this at the age of 6 - he thought everyone had a better understanding of what they had heard and just assumed he wasn't as bright as his fellow pupils and would have to work harder!

The book is about his sometimes painful journey from childhood to youth and the ingenious compensating skills he invented and the stress of his long struggle with undiagnosed deafness. The deafness was only discovered when Gerry took a routine physical exam at the age of 34. A doctor did a hearing test and told him he was deaf - he didn't believe him at first and did nothing for a year - however he finally got hearing aids fitted and the rest is history. To listen to him talk about hearing nature for the first time in nearly 30 years is moving - he calls them his 'songs without words' - it might make us all appreciate those wonderful sounds even more!

This is a no 'poor me' wallowing memoir - it's a book about triumph over adversity with no self-pity over his sense of isolation in being deaf - just sheer chutzpah and determination to achieve. The book goes into great depth about how partially deaf people communicate through 'lyricals' - for the wrong words that they hear - these are more of Gerry's 'songs without words'.

A story of true courage and fantastic stength of will and enlightenment of the human spirit. The added bonus in writing the book is that it has given Gerry great joy and he has now found his new vocation and another form of communication that unites us all!

I had a frisky French grandmother (my father's mother) who was partially deaf too and she would often tell me that when you're deaf the other senses are heightened! So not so bad then Gerry........

The party was full of Gerry and his wife Claire's friends and held at Laurie and Laetitia Oppenheim's beautiful home. Thank you Karl Ziegler for the lovely photos.

'Tones sound, and roar and storm about me until I have set them down in notes'  -  Ludwig van Beethoven

'Lean In'?

Lean in

Just as the furore over Sheryl Sandberg's book 'Lean in' has died down I wanted to add my voice to the debate. Unless you're not aware - how cool - Sheryl is the COO of Facebook (since 2008) and this new book has now sold 275,000 copies up to last week. She is hoping to create a national movement to help women advance in the workforce and the book became the focus of intense debate even before it's publication on March 11th 2013. It's part feminist manifesto and part how-to career guide. Obviously the book has nothing to do with helping Facebook's languishing share price since it's bungled I.P.O? Or as the Washington Post succinctly put it "simply the elite leading the slightly-less-elite, for the sake of Sandberg's bottom line'. Whatever, she believes feminism has 'stalled' and I think one of the good things this book has done - is that it has got everyone talking and opened up the debate again. I want to be supportive, but I don't think 'Lean In' is the answer, it sounds more like a 1980's mantra and surely we've moved-on from that? Sheryl's message is that 'women internalize the negative messages they get throughout their lives - most men don't. Women are told it's wrong to be outspoken, aggressive and more powerful than men and so rather than pull-back which many women choose to do, she thinks they should 'lean-in'.'

I believe there is a shortage of women in global boardrooms and in senior positions because most women don't want to go there! Not from lack of ability but from preferring to start their own structure - be it a business or joining forces with other like minded people and creating their own cultures and making lifestyle choices. We can do success differently from many men who make themselves ill with heart problems and diabetes by becoming workaholics which doesn't look fun! We want to make the time to unplug and re-charge.

Being a woman has never held me back. If you know your subject - you won't be thrown by anything. But you have to be strong and have the hide of a rhino sometimes from all the sniping successful women get and I understand why many women don't think it's worth it. I think successful women get a huge amount of flak - it goes with the territory - but I found it unbearable sometimes.  Tina Brown says "flak means you're hot in business" - so there will be a lot of resentment as it's such a competitive world - but does it have to be like that? There needs to be a complete cultural change from the media to governments to the corporates if they want to appeal to more women.

I find it's interesting that the 'millenials' or 'generation y' as they are sometimes called (those born 1977 to 1993), place a higher value on their work/life balance and have expressed a desire to pursue work that is personally meaningful. They say that they have learnt by watching their mothers (baby boomers) tearing their hair out trying to balance career and family and have no intention of copying them!

In my experience if you lean in too far you're likely to fall flat on your face. There are lifestyle choices women can make and most choose not to be at the top table because it doesn't look that appealing. They want to be more individualistic. Unless there are systematic and cultural changes I think this will continue.

I think it's interesting that Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo who also launched her book with much debate is dissing feminism as too negative. I don't think she'd be saying this if she'd been born 20 years earlier when all those amazing women fought for all the fights she doesn't have to now.

Another extraordinary woman - whatever your political views -  was Lady Thatcher whose passing has opened up the debate even further. Why are there so few women MP's? I think you just have to look at Prime Minister's Question Time (PMQT) to understand why. All that aggressive city-type blustering is so last decade/century - it's a toxic Punch and Judy show - women don't want to be part of that culture. It's time for a re-think.

(The cartoon character above is of me which one of my film director's drew - it always makes me laugh and I think shows he understood the acrobatic act I had to go through when running my film production company!)

"One girl is worth more use than 20 boys" - Peter Pan - J M Barrie

Serendipity

Do you believe in serendipity? I do. Wikipedia defines 'serendipity' meaning a 'happy accident' or 'pleasant surprise'. I believe it's much more than that - it's being open to chance, luck, happenstance and having gratitude. Serendipity smiles upon people who know what they like, love and want. Life follows you. Choose what you love and remain relaxed but sticky enough to attract and magnetise the good stuff to yourself. I'd like to give you an example of this in my own life. At the time I wasn't consciously aware of the fortuitous circumstances I'd created but by loving something and showing gratitude I had attracted it to me. In 1984 I was flying out to Sydney, Australia to produce some Quantas commercials with Michael Parkinson and Barry Humphries (Dame Edna). The flight at that time was @26 hours (with stop offs) so we knew we were in for the long haul. One of the creatives I was travelling with handed me a book called 'White Mischief' by James Fox and said 'I think you'll enjoy this'. I could not put the book down. I was riveted start to finish. Isn't it great when you get a book you love - well done James Fox! Anyway the book is based upon a true story about the Happy Valley set in 1940's Kenya and the murder of the philandering Earl of Errol. Whilst I was reading the book I began to realise I would go there, not just to Kenya but to the Djinn Palace on Lake Naivasha. In fact I loved the book so much I was certain I would go there - it all seemed so familiar - maybe I was visualising the movie!

I had travelled a lot by this time, but I had never been to Kenya yet. My father had been there as a young man - before his marriage to my mother - and had loved the place, so I must have picked up on this as a child. He'd regale stories of his adventures there, meeting Karen Blixen, Joy Adamson, etc. He'd also said whenever you go to Kenya you always leave a little piece of your heart there - it's a very spiritual place that gets to your soul.

So I remembered all of this, especially the 1940's were very much my parents era - so throw in the nostalgia factor too - I was hooked. So much so that when we arrived in Sydney I rang London to try to get the film rights of the book. However, the director Mike Radford had already snapped them up and the rest is history. An excellent film was produced called 'White Mischief' starring Greta Scacchi and Charles Dance which was released in 1987. However, by 1986 I'd already met the friends who would take me not only to Kenya but to stay at the Djinn Palace on Lake Naivasha - the Earl of Errol's original home where much of the action took place in the real and filmed 'White Mischief'. Coincidence or serendipity?!

Since then I have spent many Christmases and holidays there with the owners, June and Hans Zwager and family and have loved every minute of it! They run as a family the biggest flower farm in the world - Hans Zwager is truly the flowering Dutchman! I was also asked by June Zwager to oversee the filming of the 'Safari' perfume launch commercial for Ralph Lauren who had chosen the Djinn Palace as the location to make the ad with his New York ad agency. I didn't realise back in 1984 what an important part in my life Kenya would play but the Zwager family are like extended family now and when they are in London they have a house 5 minutes from mine in Kensington. Coincidence or serendipity?

I am now embarking on helping raise awareness of the poaching of white rhino from their animal sanctuary at Lake Naivasha which specializes in protecting endangered species at great annual cost. You can find out more  about this wonderful charity at their website www.oseriantwolakes.com. As you probably know this is a worldwide issue with great supporters such as HRH Prince William and Stephen Fry rallying the cause. I would hope that the serendipity factor works for me with this!

'Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye' - H. Jackson Brown Jr.

My blog this week is a letter I read many years ago of fatherly advice about love. It was written in 1958 by Nobel Prize-winning John Steinbeck, the author of 'The Grapes of Wrath' and 'Of Mice and Men' to his lovestruck teenage son. I just read it again and thought it appropriate for this week - enjoy.

New York, November 10, 1958

Dear Thom,

We had your letter this morning. I will answer it from my point of view and of course Elaine will from hers.

First - if you are in love - that's a good thing - that's about the best thing that can happen to anyone. Don't let anyone make it small or light to you.

Second - there are several kinds of love. One is selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you - of kindness and consideration and respect - not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn't know you had.

You say this is not puppy love. If you feel so deeply - of course it isn't puppy love. But I don't think you were asking me what you feel. You know better than anyone. What you wanted me to help you with is what to do about it - and that I can tell you.

Glory in it for one thing and be very glad and grateful for it.

The object of your love is the best and the most beautiful. Try to live up to it.

If you love someone - there is no possible harm in saying so - only you must remember that some people are very shy and sometimes the saying must take that shyness into consideration.

Girls have a way of knowing or feeling what you feel, but they usually like to hear it also.

It sometimes happens that what you feel is not returned for one reason or another - but that does not make your feeling less valuable and good.

Lastly, I know your feeling because I have it and I'm glad you have it.

We will be glad to meet Susan. She will be very welcome. But Elaine will make all such arrangements because that is her province and she will be very glad to. She knows about love too and maybe she can give you more help than I can.

And don't worry about losing. If it is right, it happens - the main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.

Love, Fa

Isn't that just the best?

Happy Valentines Day!

'Meaning' is the new money

I believe we are in a period of massive change and generally people are looking for deeper meaning in their lives. With the global financial crisis and lack of trust in governments and corporations many people are hungry for something different and may have lost the connection to their deeper selves. After decades of pursuing riches, wealth seems less alluring and meaning has become the new money. Whilst I was researching this I came across a book by Dan Pink called 'A Whole New Mind' about how the 21st century is all about the Conceptual Age and the future of global business will belong to the right brain thinkers. The era of 'left brain' predominance of the logical, linear, computer based Information Age that it engendered are giving way to a new world of 'right brain' qualities that predominate which are inventiveness, empathy and meaning. The future belongs to those with a right brain mindset - creators, empathizers, pattern recognizers and 'meaning makers'. These people -  artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers will all reap the rewards of this new age. We need to maintain our left brain directed skills but now master six essential right brain directed skills. The six essential aptitudes on which professional success and personal fulfillment now depend are Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning. Pink reckons that these six senses will increasingly guide our lives and shape our world.

The four historical major ages:

1.  Agricultural Age (farmers) 18th century - left brain domination

2.  Industrial Age (factory workers) 19th century - left brain domination

3.  Information Age (knowledge workers) 20th century - left brain domination

4.  Conceptual Age (creators and empathizers) 21st century - right brain skills now required

According to the latest research, IQ accounts for between 4 and 10 per cent of career success. However, IQ tests are based upon excessive left brain directed thinking. The qualities that are more important and tougher to quantify are imagination, joyfulness and social dexterity - right brain qualities. Pink says the most valued degree in business is now the Master of Fine Arts (MFA). The MFA is the new MBA.

Research also found that the most effective leaders were funny (ha ha, not peculiar) and these leaders had their charges laughing three times more often than their managerial counterparts. Interestingly in my 20's before I started my own business I only had 3 great bosses all called Ian and all hilarious and well loved - so I can testify to this!

I think this book is more relevant now than when it was first written just before the financial crisis. I'm even more delighted that the future belongs to skills that I embrace where creativity is key, but I do think if you can integrate the right brain and left brain qualities equally you'll go far!

Happy Conceptual Age!

'Leadership is about empathy.  It is about having the ability to relate and to connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.'   -  Oprah Winfrey

Female style 2013

Happy New Year to everyone reading this and here's to a great 2013! Over the Christmas break I managed to catch up on articles that I had marked and wanted to read but hadn't as yet. As part of being a Bafta voter I get an on-line subscription to The Hollywood Reporter. It really is a terrific magazine even if you don't work in the business - it has many interesting articles to read. One that stood out for me was in the November 9th issue 2012 on 'Power dressing: The New Rules of Hollywood Female Style.' To sum up it was music to my ears and I'm sure to many other women as Hollywood seems to lead the way in fashion.

It appears power dressing for women has evolved and changed.  A woman no longer has to be a devil in Prada she's allowed to indulge in her femininity in a way power women never did before. Dresses and separates rule the day and night - dress like a girl because we already have our own power. Expressing your individuality is the order of the day. At one time all the women just dressed like the guys - now no longer - femininity is the way to go - pantsuits are out and dresses are in! Fashion can be an asset in today's entertainment business. Funny - I always thought it was in any business!

One thing I really applaud is that red carpets aren't for actresses anymore. Women film executives now turn-up in as many photos as the star's they represent. As the film awards season is underway.....check it out.

I've worn dresses for as long as I can remember - I think looking feminine is great - but what I'm pleased about is the psychology behind this change in dress code for women. They are choosing to show their femininity and softness and still remain powerful.  To me this is freedom from the shackles of power dressing - to dress as a woman and not to stifle your individuality or femininity.  As the Dalai Lama is reported to have said "The world will be saved by the western woman........" and I say she'll be wearing a frock in the process!

Can I recommend a book that's to be released on Jan 17th 2013 by author Steve Biddulph called 'Raising Girls'. A must read for girls and boys of all ages!

Images courtesy of 1. Larry Busacca/Getty Images North America), 2. Pinterest 3. Jane Fuller 4. Mirror.co.uk 5. The Weddingbox.com, 6. Atlantic Pacific blog

Happy Christmas and consciously create a great 2013!

It seems Christmas and that New Year come around far too soon - however it does make you stop and reflect on the past year and to the wonderful people and places that have been special - isn't that what Christmas is about - remembering people you love. I have included many in the previous blogs but herewith my thanks and love and best of 2012 to:

Best wedding party- Rasha and Yusef at Blenheim Palace in May - stunning!

Best Birthday party - June Zwager at home Kensington and Jan Dauman at home Kensington - Shared top place!

Best wedding - Rasha and Yusef at Villa Dorane Cap D'Antibes in June - the best of best!

Best Theatre - the new St. James Theatre - naturally!

Best Jubilee Party - Victoria Road W8 - the best (I was on the committee)!

Best City - London!

Best Office - Steve Varsano c/o The Jet Business - well done Steve - the best of the best!

Best Olympic Games ever - London 2012

Best Paralympics Games ever - London 2012

Best comedy - HIGNFY - Jack Whitehall/Baroness Trumpington edition - not to be missed!

Best Ambassador - Kuwaiti Ambassador to London - His Excellency Khaled Al-Duwaisan

Best church -  Farm Street church in Mount Street

Best Desert Island Discs - Dustin Hoffman

Best Bhive - Caroline Garnham

Best TED Talk - Aimee Mullins (not strictly this year but a must see and I only saw it this year!)

Best Film - Too many to mention - 2013 will be a bumper year!

Best Cathedral- Wells, Somerset

Best photographer - Karl Ziegler

Best jokes - James Anderson

Best dog - Derby! xx

Best Jazz Gala - St. James Theatre!

Best Sunday Lunch - The Feathers, Woodstock and Hotel Costes Paris shared top place!

Best niece - Laura - we had a ball despite Viva Forever! xx

Best Play - Bully Boy

Best Mayor - Boris!

Best Opera - Holland Park - thank you Merrill Lynch - glorious!

Best Charity Event - Pig Biz @ Tracy Worcester shared joint place with G International for the inspirational Anuradha Koiral

Best Carol Service - St. Paul's Knightsbridge for MacMillan Cancer Support - thank you Robert Walters!

Best Poetry Evening - Lord Saatchi's for his late wife Josephine Hart

Best Holiday - Switzerland!

Best Friends - they know who they are!

Best Christmas Party (so far!) - Harvard Business School at White Cube and D Group in Grafton Street joint favourites!

And remember on Christmas morning what Dale Carnegie said:

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.  But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving."

Have a great Christmas and consciously create your best 2013 ever! Have a clear vision of what you want and believe you can have it!

xxxx

The Brand Personified

Donna Karan & Jane Fuller

Being a marketing girl I understood early on that your image is a tool. From the top of your head to the tips of your toes, whether you like it or not, you are revealing who you are – your brand – with your hair, teeth, complexion, hands, nails, feet, fitness, body shape, clothes. I also believe there is far too much emphasis on looks today – but what are you going to do – fight it?! I happen to enjoy the process. So I try not to step out of the door without looking my best – because if you look good, you feel good and that affects your confidence and point of attraction. Having worked in the glamorous and creative world of film and music video and working with many first class directors, music artists and actors, wardrobe, hair and make-up talent, has taught me many valuable lessons. My father had also been one of the original 'Mad Men' in marketing – in fact he was Peter Mead of ad agency Abbott Mead Vickers/BBDO’s first client – and my mother had modeled in Lucozade ads etc., in her day.  So I had naturally understood that image was important and that pride in yourself and the way you look does not convey or cover-up any deficiency. It’s smart to care and clothes are part of the deal.  Clothes reflect how you feel about yourself.  So much is communicated by what we wear.  I also think you learn about fashion, design, quality and style from great designers.

I was invited by Harvey Nichols to ‘An Evening with Donna Karan’ and met the fabulous designer in person. She was interviewed by the stylish and influential Paula Reed who has just been appointed group fashion director at Harvey Nichols from Grazia magazine. The fashion show was great and proved Donna Karan’s clothes are timeless, sexy and elegant - I have been a fan for many years and will continue to be – she just gets how women want to look and feel.

Donna Karan

Donna Karan

Jane Fuller

I was also invited to the Valentino fashion evening SS/2013 at Harrods penthouse with my friend Olivia. We had such fun and the clothes as always were superb. Clothes are part of the deal when looking good – have fun with them!

Talking of superb brands I had a business meeting at Little House in Mayfair last week with the savvy Lesley Everett. Little House is one of the latest sibling clubs in the Soho House group – Nick Jones seems to be on brand with every new opening – its well worth a visit.

Jeremy King and Chris Corbin seem to get it right with each new opening too. Their latest restaurant Colbert in Sloane Square is now my new local – I love it!

Have you noticed with all these successful brands that we know the face behind the name? They have a personality. Even with the big corporates now - it's the one's who have got the personality that are going to succeed. It's not good enough to have that great brand with the chief exec. sitting in his glass office all day - they have to get out and show their personality. People feel they need to know the face behind the corporate name or designer. People buy people.

I think this is why Sir Stuart Rose and Sir Terry Leahy are greatly missed don't you?

‘Give the girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world’  -  Bette Midler

Victory For Obama!

obama

America owes the world an apology - what better person to deliver that message than Barack Obama. What a relief he’s been given another 4 years’ to do so. I have been a fan of America since I was child – my father would bring me back Walt Disney characters from Disneyland and dresses from New York from his many business trips there. My parents would go to first night Broadway musicals so its written in my DNA that I would love America.

I have worked in America countless times since as a Producer in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, etc. etc. I have many American friends in London and America. I was invited to the American Election Party at the American Embassy in London last night and so I have a great affinity towards the USA. Thank heavens the American people gave Barack Obama a second term. Elections matter. They are important. What happens in America affects us. As is often said “when America sneezes – the world catches a cold!”

My view is that Barack Obama came along at the right moment in history in 2008. He touched on the zeitgeist of that moment in time. In an age when we need more authenticity from our leaders he can now continue as the most powerful leader in the world and he’s still the man of the moment – how cool is that?! He needed more than 4 years’ to get the job done – let’s hope Hillary Clinton continues the good work in 2016!

I believe we are in a period of massive change and social transformation. People need to feel heard and listened to – they will not put up with bullshit and lies anymore – its power to the people now with twitter, Facebook, etc., powering through peoples’ lives. They want their  leaders to be authentic – a person who can lead by example and from the front – by being true to their conviction. Adaptable, flexible, empowering, motivating and inspiring others – having values, honor and integrity. A good leader today needs to have a good IQ and EQ. Also being able to grasp the increasingly rapid pace of technology which may open up opportunities – as seen in the Arab Spring. A leader who also understands the importance of women in their lives who tend to focus on the importance of building good relationships! Over to you Hillary…………

PS You wouldn't believe that an old boyfriend of mine now funds the Tea Party would you!?

The Healing Power of Movies

The Bafta Awards season is well underway (Sept'12 to Feb 2013) and so I'm in the midddle of seeing many screenings of new movies which members vote on from Dec'12 to Feb'13. The Orange Bafta Awards take place on 10th February 2013 at London's Royal Opera House. I've always loved the power of television and film - that's one of the reasons I wanted to be a producer. I have often found that moments from great movies can contain messages and stir emotions that you can identify with. Freud said that images are the language of the unconscious. I can look back to old and new movies that have affected me or family and friends in some way. I always wanted to translate that powerful moment and message into a commercial - not easy when involving a client and product - but film moments are used as references relentlessly in ad agencies and production companies.

I was lucky to see 'A Life in Pictures' discussion with Dustin Hoffman in person at Bafta this week. He's everything you'd want him to be and more and a much loved neighbour of mine. Totally authentic, funny and surprisingly quite emotional when talking about his personal divorce in 1980 in relation to the multi-award winning film Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) about divorce and how that had affected him - the power of movies! Lord Puttnam has also referred to how movies have got an amazing way of detecting those moments - they speak to us -  and has referred to them in his acceptance speech for his Bafta Fellowship in 2006.

Bernie Wooder, psychotherapist, has pioneered the use of movie therapy to assist his clients and says that seeing emotions played out on the screen is a more powerful experience for many of his clients than talking about an abstract idea. It gives people a resource that endures. Movie therapy can help people change enormously and get to who they really are. My powerful film moments are from: Black Swan, Rebecca, The Remains of the Day, The Lives of Others, Separate Tables, etc. What are yours?

Words that Burn

This week I've been researching and writing 2 speeches and a separate article for a business magazine. I visited the London Library  in St. James Square SW1 and I'm considering becoming a member - it truly is a brilliant and inspiring library. I've always found that if something is troubling me and I write it down I can bring order to the situation and I am able to look at the it more rationally. The power of words....... My blog this week is about the power of words.  I was invited by Lord Saatchi to his Friends and Family opening night of his late wife Josephine Hart's Poetry Week at the Arts Theatre. Over five nights the work of some of the world's greatest poets were celebrated and brought alive with the help of Josephine's words and the poems themselves, read aloud by some of the finest actors. This first night were poems by TS Eliot read by Edward Fox and Harriet Walter. The evening was a real treat.  There was a fantastic audience of family and friends too from Edna O'Brien, Bob Geldorf, Sir Simon Jenkins, Sabrina Guinness, Lord Gowrie, etc etc. I have The Josephine Hart Poetry App on my iPad which I highly recommend too. However there is nothing quite like seeing poetry performed at this level.

St James Theatre Bully Boy

Last Wednesday (October 10th) was World Mental Health Day and I was invited to the charity performance of the play 'Bully Boy' at the St James Theatre in collaboration with Combat Stress. There was a lively Q&A session afterwards with the play's writer Sandi Toksvig, the cast - Anthony Andrews and Joshua Miles, director Patrick Sandford and Commodore Andrew Cameron who is the Chief Executive of Combat Stress.

The play is about a young squaddie in Iraq who is court-marshalled for his role in the death of an 8 year old Arab boy, it's a question of class and rank when his defending officer is a Falklands War veteran. Anthony Andrews is brilliant as the war veteran and Joshua Miles as the young squaddie - his first play - is just excellent. I have never seen a play with a continuous standing ovation before - it is seriously a must see. The energy, the stress the emotion all powerfully portrayed. The Q&A were good too and then we had drinks with everyone afterwards downstairs in the studio bar.

The play highlights a very neglected area of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) soldiers returning from war with little help for them to integrate back into society. So as Sandi said its either The Priory or prison. The soldiers need our support and understanding - that's where Combat Stress comes in but they have had cuts implemented............Sandi's script is very powerful.

My guest was Hugh Lillingston, a Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP and Hypnosis and a teacher of Huna who is one of the practitioners of the warrior programme a charity which has helped many ex-soldiers get their lives back on track. I met Hugh and his wife Catherine through Tracy Worcester.

My next event was a dinner with the entrepreneur, Luke Johnson (Risk Capital Partners) at CSFI (Centre for Study of Financial Innovation) - a financial think-tank in London and New York. I've been asked to produce a TV Channel for Entrepreneurs - so it seems in the same week appropriate that I go to a dinner with one of the UK's most high profile entrepreneurs. Luke was great despite us exhausting him with questions - he answered all of them - no complaints - mind you the food was delicious so I think that may have helped sustain us all.

"Poetry is thoughts that breathe and words that burn" - Thomas Gray.

The Healing Power of Nature

My blog this week is about how nature and our physical and visual surroundings can deeply affect us. One of my daily treats is to exercise for @ 30mins in Kensington Gardens. It happens to be a 4 minute walk from my house and it is one of the joys of living in this area. The beautiful trees and gardens, the lake, the cute dogs, bumping into neighbours, the wild flower area to encourage bees etc., the sunshine, the rain, the seasons! It's nature in all its glory - I love it - as well as the exercise giving me a feel good factor, I find nature spiritually enriching. As it is often said "its the simple things in life". Nina Simone got it right with her song 'Feelin'  Good' - listen to those words. It is a well known fact that appreciating and getting close to nature is good for us - but our physical surroundings at home and work do affect us too. I love having a beautiful home to come back to - the orchids, the fire, the cosy sofas - that's why I love to make properties look great! A visual feel good factor.  Very important to our spirit and soul. It's proven that a lovely office has a huge impact on the way staff perform too. None of that hot desking either!  Give everyone their own nest not to procrastinate but to make them feel happy.......that's one of the reasons why I started my own business. Flowers grow in the sunshine.

Talking of visual feasts I was invited last Monday to a Harvard Business School evening at Kensington Palace. It's 5 minutes from my house so we just walked there. Kensington Palace has been newly transformed by a 2 year (much needed!) £12 million refurbishment undertaken by Historic Royal Palaces. The evening was about the challenges and triumphs and the planning and realisation of the project.  We arrived to a champagne reception by the Kings Stairway - a wonderful backdrop - then sat in the magnificent King's Gallery for the discussion and then drinks were served in the King's Drawing Room and Cupola Room. It really was an interesting evening - I love history brought to life and leaving the Palace on a dark moonlit night was very filmic - you felt you were in the deepest darkest Dorset countryside but High Street Ken was 2 minutes away!

My next visual feast was seeing Mike Newells film adaptation of Charles Dickens classic 'Great Expectations' at the Mayfair Hotel. It really is one of the best cinemas to view a movie by the way. The film is well worth seeing and looks wonderful. The DOP (director of photography) is John Mathieson who I have worked with on commercials - it looks stunning. Fantastic cast and Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch is brilliant.

My third visual feast was having lunch in the brasserie at the St. James Theatre (SJT). Le grand fromage of SJT very kindly bought me and a business associate - Caroline Garnham of Family BHive network - lunch. The food was not only a visual feast but tasted delicious too. Now you may think I'm biased but the brasserie is well worth a visit on its own, but great to have an early supper there before seeing a theatre production - and they do prosecco by the glass!

My fourth visual feast was a week-end in the country - heaven, heaven, heaven. It really looked like my favourite poem by John Keats 'Ode to Autumn' - season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.......the photos were taken on one of our walks - soothing eh?

National Poetry Day was 4th October 2012

We Are What We Eat

This week my blog is about the food we eat and being aware of how that food is produced and where it comes from. A healthy body is part of making life grand and what we feed our bodies is of prime importance. We think with our bodies so what goes on in the inside shows on the outside. So feed your body the best primal foods you can and being aware of how that food is produced is part of the process. I met Tracy Worcester at a Christies event last year and we've been friends ever since. She single handedly started 'Pig Business' which investigates the rise of factory pig farming, a system which abuses animals, pollutes the environment, threatens human health through dangerous overuse of antibiotics and wrecks rural communities. Her film now in 21 languages, has had a huge impact across the world by highlighting the utter horrors associated with the modern industrial-scale pig production.

Zac and Ben Goldsmith co-hosted a dinner at Sake no Hana restaurant with Tracy this week on the subject of the film 'Pig Business' to help raise funds so Tracy and her team can go out and make more country-specific versions of the film and distribute. The event was not only successful but fun too with many of Tracy's fans and supporters - from Dominic West to Evgeny Lebedev to the rest of the Goldsmith family, Brian May, etc etc.  We are what we eat so it makes sense to feed your body the best and question where that food comes from.

Talking of good food I was invited to LA Suite West in Inverness Terrace, W2, for lunch on one of those now rare sunny September days. We sat outside on the terrace and the food was fresh, seasonal, simple and delicious - well worth a visit.

I also went to Angharad McAlpine (nee Rees) the actress of Poldark fame, memorial service at St. Pauls Church in Knightsbridge yesterday. The church was packed - I'm not sure how we squeezed in. A wonderful event in celebration of Angharad's life. Her son Rhys had worked for me in his school holidays many years earlier and I'd worked with his late father Christopher Cazenove on the Scottish Widows commercials that I'd produced in the 90's. There were wonderful addresses by Rhys and Julian Fellowes, readings by Edward Fox and family members and Lulu sang the best rendition of 'Smile' I have ever heard!  If we weren't all emotional by that time - we soon were. However the sun shone through the church windows which I'd like to think meant Angharad approved of it all. Amen.

Luck

I mentioned last week that I was going to talk about 'luck'.  I landed on my feet at an early age in my career. Many people have asked me since how did you manage that? I just expected to. I didn't realise at the time that I attracted my own luck by expectation in my thoughts. I knew if I worked hard and found the area I wanted to be in - in my case TV producing - I was in the right place at the right time, but in retrospect I realise that luck, whether good or bad is actually manifested by the way we think. I just naturally thought the best! So expect the best! Talking of best - I went to see the film 'Untouchable' which has just opened in London but has broken box office records around the world. A French comedy based on a true story about the friendship that develops between a wealthy quadriplegic and his unlikely caretaker. I laughed, I cried - its great! Omar Sy as the black Muslin ex-con caretaker is fantastic - watch his dance sequence! I've been playing Earth Wind & Fire on my iPhone ever since. It's a must see. Perfect timing too just as the Paralympics are changing perceptions about disability - impeccable Mr. Weinstein!

I also went to see the documentary Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel at Bafta this week. Researched and produced by her granddaughter-in-law. I have been a fan of DV for as long as I can remember - one of the great doyennes of the fashion industry who demanded the best of life. Courageous, dramatic, determined and funny - well worth seeing.

Don't you think London seems to be rocking at the moment despite the global woes? It really is one of the best cities to live. We really are lucky to have such amazing entrepreneurs and designers who want to live here too. I went to the London Design Festival party at the V&A Museum - what a turn out and in such glorious surroundings. Thank you London!

Fearless

My blog this week I realized was all about being 'fearless'.  I love and applaud people who are prepared to stick their neck out and start their own 'thing' - be it a business, a book, a theatre production, a film or indeed a blog! It requires true courage and strength of character - to dig deep - your 'thing' will reveal bits of who you are whether you like it or not. So I would encourage readers to find a career that is about the essence of who you are - don't fear being your authentic self and find your true passion! That way it won't even feel like work.  I was lucky to have landed on my feet at an early age but that's another story - next weeks blog is about attracting luck! Being involved with the St. James Theatre I like to check out the competition.  I was invited by my friend Olivia to Home House evening at Regents Park Theatre of 'Midsummer Nights Dream' last week. This is indeed a fearless production - a fantastically powerful modern day version of this Shakespeare comedy with chavs and hoodies at the heart of a gypsy community - I loved it!  Original music, fantastic set, great acting. Just as a side - Lady Lucy French was Head of Development at Regents Park Theatre before she became Director of Development at the St. James Theatre.

I also saw Joe Wrights film of 'Anna Karenina' at Bafta on Saturday. Again talking of fearless this is a brave theatrical production that worked for me! I loved it - the surprise is Jude Law playing the rather dull cuckolded husband.

Yet more celebratory parties of the opening of St. James Theatre this week sponsored by Laurent Perrier - good fun was had by all and a fantastic turnout! Can't wait for the September 18th when we open with Anthony Andrews in Bully Boy written by the wonderful Sandi Toksvig...........

Life is an Epic Production

I started 'Life is an epic production....." because one of the biggest buzzes I got from producing and running my own production company was finding and developing talent - be it a director, producer or acting talent. I have also mentored many friends children over the years who have worked for me in their school holidays. It's wonderful to see people grow and embrace their success. It's my way of giving back too......to all those people who helped me along the way when I first started. Talking of talent - we had one of our first parties at St. James Theatre this week on 5th September and Camilla Kerslake sang for all our guests from this fabulous Italian marble staircase and then down in the studio. She is the girl who Gary Barlow first signed to his new label 'Future Records' in 2009. She has since performed as Cosette in Les Miserables. What a voice - what a talent!

The staircase in the foyer from where Camilla sang is a sculptured staircase designed by international award winning artist and designer, Mark Humphrey. Crafted in Pietra Santa, by Pocelli Marmi, where Michelangelo carved David. The work of the staircase celebrates the best of British design alongside Italian craftsmanship! It's beautiful!.

The party was pretty good too - a fantastic turnout of people from Lord Archer to Tracy Worcester to His Excellency Khaled Al-Duwaisan Kuwaiti Ambassador to London etc. Thank you for a wonderful evening team!