Stars In My Eyes

Well, last night was an unrivalled success. We caught a glimpse of the shows from the Edinburgh International and Fringe Festivals. The camptastic Craig Hill in his leather Howie kilt, was his usual outrageous self. The New York crowd loved him.

Not that I am one for name dropping, but you will not believe who I saw today singing outside the General Motors building at the end of 5th Avenue. It was foxy Cleopatra herself, Beyonce Knowles. The crowd were going mad. I was just hopping. Being vertically challenged I only caught a glimpse. If you look closely at this pic here and close in on the blurred image with the lovely hair, that is Beyonce. Really. You could tell the New York folk love their music. I can’t wait until Wednesday to see Scotland Rocks New York at the Bowery Room (www.scotlandrocksnewyork.com). With the 1990s and Sons and Daughters playing, with Belle and Sebastian dj-ing, it is going to be a great night. Scottish bands are going down a storm in the US these days. Glasgow in particular is thriving with new bands and it is good to see the US picking up on this. Fyi…loads of movies (Devil Wears Prada) and shows (Ugly Betty) feature music from Scottish bands. Also, on the topic of Hollywood movies, lots of well known stars chose Scottish surnames when they became famous. Who has ever heard of Lucille Fay Le Sueur aka Joan Crawford? How about Norman Jean Baker aka Marilyn Monroe? Archibald Leach aka Cary Grant? Does Issur Danielovitch ring a bell? He is the legendary Spartacus or Kirk Douglas as he preferred to be called. After Beyonce’s performance, she signed Morag’s wing mirror. Morag is a big fan. “There is nothing quite like driving across the beautiful Trossachs in Scotland with Beyonce booming out from the stereo” said Morag.

Beautiful New York
Now, I have to admit that before I came to NY, I had a preconception that the city was very new and therefore would not be able to compare historically to the Scottish cities. How wrong I was. Everywhere you go in New York there are beautiful statues. Many buildings are decorated with beautifully ornate carvings. Some of the entrances to buildings are just stunning. It really was an eye opener for me. I know that we Scots are proud of our history and beautiful architecture but so are the native New Yorkers. In Central Park, for example there are beautiful statues right across the park. Scots would be proud to know that thanks to the work of the St Andrew’s Society in New York, there are massive statues of Scots including Robert Burns and Walter Scott. What a city. I know now why people find it hard to leave New York. This city has everything.

For those interested in how Morag and Chuck are getting along, the quick answer is fabulously. Chuck bought Morag a little tourist NY kit. She now has a ‘I Love NY’ bumper badge. Morag was always worried about getting a bumper sticker as she thinks they don’t look so good when you get older, but this was from Chuck….and Morag likes Chuck….a lot.

Tonight I’m heading off to the Scottish fashion show, Dressed to Kilt. Morag and I will be celebrity spotting. Even though we saw Beyonce today, we are both very excited.
I’ll let you know all about it and the after show party tomorrow.

Yours aye,

Tam