Had the most glamorous day! I’d spent all of Thursday cooped up in
the hotel room trying to plan our Ireland itinerary and fighting Chris’s
cold. By evening, I was clamoring for conversation so Rebecca, Chris’s
co-worker’s wife, and I met up in the hotel bar and chatted for two
hours over a glass of wine. Once the boys got in we dined at the local
Indian restaurant. I was a lovely evening, but no match for today’s
events!
The day started innocently enough. The weather was warm and sunny so I headed out to Regents Park with the intent of wandering its fields and gardens. Along the way, I passed by an elegant hotel and popped in to use the toilet. The place was crawling with security personnel, but I pretended to be a guest of the hotel (being American helped). On my way out I noticed that there were all sorts of paparazzi near the ballroom and being pushy, I managed to squeeze in.
It was a charity event to raise money for autism and tons of celebrities were there! I’m talking big names like The Rock, Mel Gibson, Nicholas Cage, Fergie, Hugh Grant, Elle MacPherson and my all time idol – Oprah! Penelope Cruz was there as was Tom, but I couldn’t even get near him. I pulled out my camera and started shooting away. Cybill Sheppard was there (?!) flirting unabashedly with Hugh Grant (very standoffish – did not mingle at all). Much more friendly was Jackie Chan, who started to speak Chinese to me until I gave him my deer-in-headlights look and he just laughed and said “Ok”. Everyone wanted him to do a back flip, but wouldn’t saying jokingly that his back was out. Nicolas Cage (sans his new bride, Lisa Marie) and Samuel L. Jackson hung out together a lot. The Rock was doing these cheesy poses for the press and Fergie was looking thin and lovely. She has such a thick accent I could not understand anything she was saying. Mel Gibson chain-smoked the entire time and talked to Oprah about Signs (which was opening in London that evening). Probably the biggest hit (aside from Tom Cruise) was that horrible Australian singer Kylie. She is teeny-weeny. I can’t figure out her appeal, but she is all over Hello and Okay magazines.
Tickets for the event were 1,000 pounds but I got in for free! I mustered up the nerve to talk to Susan Sarandon and Morgan Freeman and even got a picture with them (though Morgan did not seem thrilled about it). A lot of the celebs only wanted to talk to each other. For that, no matter what you think about Tom Cruise, he was pretty cool cause he made it a point to sign autographs and talk to everyone. There were also a bunch of British stars whom I didn’t know at all, but drew quite a crowd. Everyone was hoping Gwenyth would show, but she didn’t. I know I’m not supposed to be star struck, but I was! Naomi Campbell (short) and Elle (very nice) were swarmed! Ha! Kyung, are you jealous?
To see the pictures click here.