Anglophiles NEW Message Board

I thought we needed a new message board, a fresh start as they say:-)

Ahhhhh . . . fresh air! Good idea, avaland. I kind of gave up on the old board.

So let me start off by saying that if I was in London right now, I'd be standing in line for tickets to Othello with Ewan McGregor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Kelly Reilly at the Donmar. Anybody over there getting the chance to see it?

Whoa...Ewan McGregor? My friend's in London right now, she must see it!

Am I the only one who thinks Ewan McGregor is a terrible terrible actor? If anyone does think he is a good actor can they tell me anything he is good in, excluding "Trainspotting"?

For awhile there, Ewan seemed to be doing the Michael Caine thing: taking any role that paid well. I think he's a good actor who has made some bad choices. I thought he was pretty good in Miss Potter (although it wasn't a great movie), and I liked him in Tim Burton's Big Fish, Nora (a little movie about James Joyce and Nora Barnacle), Velvet Goldmine, Brassed Off, Little Voice, and The Pillow Book. I'm not at all into musicals, but I also think he was pretty good in Moulin Rouge. I could live without all the Star Wars sequels and prequels, however. I think he's a lot better in art/independent films than he has been in his efforts at comedy, fantasy, and psychological thriller--which is why I'd like to see if he can do Shakespeare.

Oh, I thought Ewan McGregor was great in Brassed Off, Little Voice. BIg Fish, and yes, Moulin Rouge. Trainspotting was not my cup of tea, but it took a lot of talent to perform that role. I'd love to see him on stage doing Shakespeare. Bit of a swim for me just now, however.

Hi Everyone!
I'm new here and it's so wonderful to see some like-minded thinking anglophiles about! I just finished writing my first book (published in January!) and I think all of you will like it as it's right up your street.
It's called "Someday My Prince Will Come" (the publisher's title, not mine) and it's about my life-long passion with all things English and the many adventures it has led me to. please check out
www.jerramyfine.com for more info!!
Thanks!

Does anyone have a clue what a "skunk fur coat" might be? I keep reading about women wearing them in Barbara Pym's books. Being Canadian, I have this image of a black and white striped coat, with a faint whiff of its former redolence still lingering in the fur, particularly if worn in the rain.

I googled it; couldn't find a coat, but here's a vintage skunk fur stole:

http://store.baronunlimited.com/skunkstole.html

Yes, it is indeed skunk fur! I'm guessing it's treated to remove any odors.

Oh, and I love the caption: "Great to wear as Cruella DeVille."

tiffin: I do believe that skunks were once grown for their fur, their scent glands removed early in life so the essence would not be a problem. I'm going to try to find some proof of this---it's just a smackerel of something in the back of my brain right now.

ETA: Check out this ad for a Canadian Skunk Fur hat

Popular for Sporrans as well, it seems.

Thanks, Cariola and Laytonwoman. That's one fashion statement I won't be making! urk urk urk

I just read an article in The Guardian announcing that Queen Elizabeth has launched a Royal Channel on YouTube. "While aides were utterly convinced it was the way forward, the 81-year-old Queen - who only recently mastered emailing and had never used a personal computer until two years ago - was not immediately acquainted with the YouTube phenomenon. But after the concept was explained to her by, among others, her granddaughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie - both avid Facebook fans - she personally approved the channel's go-ahead after viewing its contents."

The Christmas Broadcast or 'Queen's Speech' for 2007 will appear on this channel at approximately 3pm GMT on Christmas Day:
YouTube Royal Channel

This is the 50th anniversary of the Queen's annual Christmas message. The original is available on YouTube, above, and begins by discussing the "new media" of television. And now here she is venturing into yet another "new media."

I enjoy watching the Queen's speech. If you haven't seen it before, you may want to tune in.

Happy Christmas, everyone.

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to this group and it has always been a dream of mine to one day be able to move to England to live
and work. I have always been a huge Anglophile and this group sounds like my cup of tea.

Cheerio
Librarianwannabe

Welcome to the group, Librarianwannabe!!!!!!!!
It is so nice to discover new Anglophiles!
:-))

Canadian author Thomas Wharton has a little piece on his blog about the editing process when you are working with a UK publisher.

http://logogryph.blogspot.com/

Much has been said about the Americanization of the language of certain books by UK authors, but it seems it works the other way also.

btw, Wharton is a wonderfully clever author, The Logogryph is a fascinatingly different little book which should delight any booklover (it is about books, reading...etc). It was shortlisted for the Impac Dublin Award.

OK, I'm posting this in multiple places so as to reach as many people as possible. Please feel free to copy this to your other groups (if not already there, of course).

Send a Thank You Postcard to LT Campaign
Most of us are having great fun cataloging our libraries and making literary friends all over the world. Why not take a little time to thank the people who have made it happen? Send a postcard to Tim, Abby and the gang to:

LibraryThing
PO Box 391586
Cambridge, MA 02139
USA

Can you imagine being on the receiving end of postcards from all over the world? Makes going to the mailbox so much more enjoyable. Please join us in thanking Tim, Abby and the LT crew for this fabulous service and cool place to hang out and discuss BOOKS!

Avaland, that's a great idea!!

I agree! I'll be sending a post card with a line of Amish buggies on it.

11. Re skunk odor.

I used to trap years ago. Mostly muskrat. I delivered them to an old German on the other side of the hill. He took care of them for half. This was in the early '40's when any fur was in great demand.

He used tomato juice to kill the odor of the few skunks I caught. Very effective. Works well on dogs that get too close.

Has anyone ever heard of communities of Anglophone writers within countries or universities? I heard of it for the first time as a group of writers within a country where English is not the primary language.

Interesting notion. I can tell you that a few years ago, many of the writers and courses in the curriculum that were referred to as "colonial" or even "post-colonial" were dubbed "Anglophone." So it wouldn't surprise me if writers on larger campuses with a more international population than the one where I currently teach would form groups (or "communities," since "communities of writers" is the current buzzword) of "Anglophones."

Hello,

I have just joined this group. Being British I have read a lot of
English Literature in my time (love it). I tend to concentrate on women's lit. nowadays - from early days to the present.

I am reading Frost in May by Antonia White and throughly enjoying it. Then I shall probably read the sequels to this.

It's time for a cuppa!!

Hello and welcome, englishrose60! It is lovely to see you here!!!
:-))

Thanks for the welcome aluvalibri. It's nice to be here.

I just learned that A. J. Cronin, a old favorite author whose books I devoured one after the other in the 1980s was responsible for the Dr. Findlay character . . . clearly, in my great literary gluttony of the time, I missed this or didn't put two and two together. I was updating some of my covers this morning and ran to wikipedia to check something and...well, there it was!

I suppose it's not appropriate to effuse over a Scottish author in an anglophiles group???

I just read my first Elizabeth Taylor At Mrs. Lippincote's. She seems to be the sort of author to appeal very much to anglophiles.

#27 I have read her work, and I just want to say she is not the American actress. I felt so dumb thinking that for the first split second I originally heard about her.

Yes, Elizabeth Taylor was an English writer, who started writing even before the actress became famous.

Hi everyone, I wanted to introduce myself being a newbie to this board, and this seemed like the best place to do so.
I'm fairly new to LT and the message boards here.
I'm 40yo, English, born in London, raised in Wiltshire. I have lived in the USA for the past 20 years, my husband is American and together we have three teenage children.
My reading tastes are fairly eclectic and I go through 'phases', but for the past few years my preference has tended towards British late victorian/edwardian era writing.

*waving hello*

A welcoming wave back to you, BritAnnia! And may I say that I really like your handle?
:-))

Lovely name, BritAnnia!

I was also born in the UK and lived in the US for 27 years before returning five years ago.

*waves back*