Natalie Spooner -Author

To:pippa@weekendbirdie
From:natalie@nataliespooner.com
RE:a rant

Loretta keeps leaving messages asking whether Cave is going to the press night of Yo Beowulf – a shadow puppet cabaret and whether he’s ‘going to be kind’. I don’t know, he’s rather preoccupied with the book launch at the mo and I’m too busy to think about it.
I've got to come all the way up to you to look over the Vanity Fair shoot and then all the way down to Newsnight Review who are doing a special report on me. And they’re probably going to go on and on about how female writers are getting more and more glam and how it’s detracting from ‘the work’ and how I shouldn’t be on the front of Loaded in my underwear if I want to be taken seriously.
Well boo-hoo, I am taken seriously. The Politico was at number 1 for months, I was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, Modernity is tipped for the Booker and I’m married to l’homme du jour Cave Spooner for God’s sake. I think I’m just too post-modern for the average Joe.

See you later at French Scrabble.
Natalie xxx

Natalie Spooner
Author

Missing you...

The Vanity Fair shoot was a breeze. It was a sexy librarian story with Natalie posing in Maribel de las Casas swimwear among the antiquarian books at the British Library.
She was a little subdued though; she’s been getting a bit of bad press recently. In fact, everyone’s a bit miserable at the mo, what with Nancy and Loretta snapping at each other and I’m suffering a little from S.A.D myself, especially as I am missing Ludo Jansdotter something rotten. Not helped by going to Progressive Urdu last night and everyone in my class asking where he was and recounting anecdotes from the night we all went out.
So it was a real tonic to get this card this morning accompanied by a basket of brioche from Boulangerie Delacroix.

I think I heart Ludo Jansdotter.

Oh dear oh deary me

To:pippa@weekendbirdie
From:nancy@a-zmodels
RE:loretta

Lordie Loretta is such a BORE! I’ve only got a small part so there’s no need for me to be at rehearsals 24 hours a day is there? So I’m flogging some stuff round the back of the theatre and she’s like “NANCEEEEE? NANCEEEEE?” and she storms out there with her hobnailed boots and cigarette holder looking all Ann Demeulemeester meets Cruella de Vil and just completely frightens off these poor little Japanese tourists I was selling to.
She needs to get a life, Yo Beowulf’s not exactly Brecht!

Plus she's one of those people who says "Correct" instead of yes, e.g "Can I go to lunch now Loretta?" "Correct"!

Toodles,

*****NANCY*****
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Oh dear

TO:pippa@weekendbirdie
FROM:loretta@yellowclog
RE: Nancy

Lord! Nancy is driving me mad, she's so flighty! Has she always been like this? She spends most of her time sitting on the steps outside, draped around her boyfriend while he plays the bongos. Thank goodness she only has a small part.
Yesterday in rehearsals her thumb was meant to come on and I called and called and had everyone scuttling round the theatre looking for her and there she was, just outside the stage door selling some of her old tat from a stall! She simply can’t commit to ANYTHING!
Plus, she keeps confusing Jacques Cousteau with Jean Cocteau e.g "This set is sooo Jacques Cousteau." Ridiculous.

Anyway…miss you. Let’s have dialogue ASAP.

Loretta x

Lunch with C.B

Soooo busy. Lunch with Charlotte Gainsbourg was lovely and it transpires that Ludo Jansdotter knows her mother since they attended the same Hungarian Throat Warbling class so I had no need to worry about him using me to get to her. Silly, silly Pip!
Still, I’m sure she may be somewhat perturbed to know he makes strange experimental films about her, nay alarmed!

Anyway, Miss Gainsbourg doesn’t half talk but she is such a natural beauty, I was quite spellbound. After lunch we had brandy and chocolates at the Covent Garden Hotel and what with all the hot yoga in the morning, it turned out to be quite an exhausting day.

Ludo Jansdotter is off to Paris tomorrow for a few days working on a Diesel ad so I will have a chance to catch my breath. Hoping he’ll be back in time to escort me to the opening night of Yo Beowulf – a shadow puppet cabaret.

I’ve got Natalie Spooner’s Vanity Fair shoot this week to keep me occupied. Graziella and I are up to our eyes in Maribel de las Casas swimwear. I do miss having Celine around to share all this with, but alas she is stuck in Paris with the little bebes and busy enough keeping la bicyclette bleu en float.

All Paris speaks about it!

To:pippa@weekendbirdie
FROM:celine@bicyclettebleu
RE:what continues?

Pippa! What is all this that I must intend to speak about you and of Ludo Jansdotter? All Paris speaks about it. Loretta indicated Nancy, Nancy indicated Pfeiffer and Pfeiffer indicated to me. Nouvelles please!
I manque of Pfeiffer terribly and donot can wait to come to see - they indicate to me its solo of groove as something to behold.
This evening I sing in a new club in Montmartre called by Rififi. Only me and the accordian. It promises to be a great exposure.

Thank you for your flowers and bonbons for Agnes, it recovers well of measles.

Soignoise,
Celine
xxxxxx

Q&A

Had to do one of those awfully tedious Q&A thingys for one of the Sunday magazines. See above.

A master class

Well, I’m all for a free lunch at Chatulle and plentiful air kisses but it wasn’t half a palaver (ooh, get me coming over all cockney) flying to Milan for a 30 minute meeting.
So I took the opportunity to meet up with swimwear designer to the stars and general bon vivant, Maribel de las Casas. She gave me 2 leopard print bikinis and a kaftan! Then we did drinks and dancing at Just Cavalli and crashed at her pad.

Anyway, Ludo Jansdotter is as special as expected and working with him was a master class. He literally took my contact sheet in one hand, a razor blade, paint brush and typewriter in the other (well, not quite literally) and 3 hours later we had our whole story. Just emailed the prints to Sofia.

After that we hopped on his Vespa and went for Japanese Mojitos at The Zetter, then the crazy fool demanded to come to Progressive Urdu with me, wowed everyone by picking it up in 10 minutes and insisted on taking my whole class out to dinner!

Tomorrow he’s taking me to Bikram yoga and then to lunch with Charlotte Gainsbourg who, rumour has it, is also a big fan of Weekend Birdie.

It’s so nice to go out with a man who wants to do more than just dinner and a movie. I have been thoroughly swept off my feet.

Mmm…just thought of something. I hope this lunch with Charlotte Gainsbourg isn’t just a ruse to get close to Jane Birkin, he is a little obsessed…and I met Jane Birkin a few weeks ago when I shot her for Issue 11. Just a thought.