Thought it was worth a shot seeing as I haven’t been on a date for so long, but it’s not an easy fit.

I’ve tried it before and had some notable disasters: the guy who claimed he was a music exec but actually worked in a record shop springs to mind. He didn’t take his hands out of his pockets for the entire two hours we spent together at a nasty pub in North London.

My profile hasn’t been up long but I’m already resisting the urge to deactivate the account as I told myself I would do this with an open mind.

So far, out of a dozen emails, only one was written in proper English. In fact, it was a rather eloquent email from a guy who, funnily enough, works in the music industry. He emailed at 3am and professed his love of enjoying adventures in the city under the cover of night.

I like to sleep at night, so we’re not a good match – but I was grateful to get an email that actually made sense.

Another guy has emailed maybe six or more times, getting steadily more angry with me for not replying. The second which said, ‘So, do you want to go out then?’ came just ten minutes after his first.

There’s a lot of bald guys too. And while I’m determined not write anyone off on appearance, I am partial to a man with hair. Bald guys, I’ve noticed, like to post profile pictures of themselves in the gym. “I may not have any hair but I’m fit, healthy and virile!” But never say never.

I also don’t like dogs. Let me put this in context: I will get to know my friend’s dogs and some of them I even like, but I don’t want to be around dogs all the time. So guys with dogs, of which there are many, are a bit of a no-no.

I’m not sure how long I’m going to last at this. When I tweeted I was online dating I had a few emails from people telling me how they’d met their spouse online. I’m not saying it’s impossible but it actually seems well, almost impossible.

At this rate, if I manage to meet a guy with a full head of hair for coffee during daylight hours, and he keeps his hands out of his pockets, I’ll consider that a small victory.

Spinny out

Gratuitous. Totally and utterly gratuitous.

But very very necessary.

Here’s Jean, part Clouseau, part Bond, in OSS 117.

Le swoon.

Spinny out.

An incredible woman, now in her eigth decade, she is being feted as an up-and-coming artist.

Rose was selected in 2010 as the British artist in the Women to Watch exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, which promotes underrepresented and promising female artists.

Last year, she showed in New York, Miami, Berlin and London, and currently has an exhibition in Moscow.

Thrillingly, the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings, UK, is showing her first restrospective next month. Finally, after years of flying under the radar, she’s getting he recognition that many believe she deserves.

She never gave up and she never lost sight of the fact that she was artist. It didn’t matter whether or not she had an audience or faced rejection.

An art dealer once said to her, ‘anyone who puts you into the art fairs is very brave because it’s about youth’.

Screw youth.

What do they know?

Spinny out.

Any time he said anything that resonated,  I wrote it down.

You’d probably find different things interesting but here are my notes. They might be of use to you.

Did you know that he was thrown out of his house by his alcoholic mother when he was a teenager, lived in his car and was taken in by friends?

The first note here is tied to that experience – his and ours…

Everything is based around your story – but you have to allow the story to evolve.

 It’s not what you get, it’s who you become.

 See things as they are but not worse than they are.

 The only thing that makes you happy is progress. And you get it two ways …by growing and giving.

 Biography is not your destiny, the decisions you make are

 Emotion is motion

 Problems are the biggest addiction in humanity – they helps us escape our fear

I asked her about her joy and she gave us her wound.

 If you know how to centre yourself, no-one can knock you off balance.

 Winter doesn’t last forever. Look at everything as a season.

 Nothing is permanent.

 If you want to take the island, you’ve got to burn the frickin boats.

There’s some great stuff in there.

I bloody loved it.

Thanks Tony Robbins.

Spinny out.

Apparently this risque poster campaign for his new movie, The Players, was too fruity for the French (and everyone else).

I think that every unimaginative celebrity magazine who copy the Demi Moore/Vanity Fair pregnant cover, should then be forced to print this on every other page.

That’s how you achieve real balance in life (see previous post for today’s philosophical ramblings).

Spinny out.

I worked my butt off last year and achieved very little for my trouble.

So I’m taking my foot off the accelerator.

I’m going to concentrate on finding balance, enjoying my friends and fitting into my Stage One Jeans (I’m back in Stage Two’s goddamnit).

I’ve heard so many stories recently about things falling into people’s laps that the thought of working myself into the ground, to basically get nowhere, makes me sick.

My trouble is that I’ve always been too eager to please but I’m not sure it’s got me anywhere in life.

I’m also a perfectionist, and was until very recently, incredibly ambitious.

That means I’ve basically spent my life fighting.

But last year finished me off. I lost a LOT last year. I was exhausted, so I’m finding a different way.

And I’m also fed up of being by myself all the time. I’m not dead yet.

I tweeted something along those lines recently and @dizzydentgirl said that she didn’t need a man, she had her Chanel coat.

I get it. Pretty things are nice. But so’s being loved and looked after.

This blog is called Hollywood Spinster but I don’t want to look forward to 40 more years of not having any romance in my life

I want to life a full life. And that includes all that good (and bad) stuff that comes with relationships.

So I’ve reframed my attitude. Since mid December I’ve been working on changing my attitude to me, and what I want from life.

I now don’t think I’m a failure. And thanks to my trip to London, I realise I’m still quite attractive.

Because of that, I also now don’t give two hoots about the Oscar or Hollywood mansion.

I want to be able to pay the bills and eat some nice dinners. That’s it folks. That’s all. And that’s enough.

There’s no way my twenty-year-younger self would accept this new me but I don’t care.

I’m trying less. I’m enjoying myself more.

And so far, it’s working out pretty damn well.

Spinny out

RIP Whitney.

I’m compiling a list of hints and tips about how to survive as a single woman (of a certain age) in a big city.

I’d love to hear how you cope with life alone in LA.

The good and the bad and the downright fugly.

I think even more so than London, where I’m originally from, LA a tough place to live. Don’t get me started on healthcare (I have friends meeting dodgy doctors in parking lots here just to save a few quid) or the fact that unless you drive or have money for a driver, you are virtually stranded.

So let’s hear how you cope. And not just with the disasters but life on a daily basis.

All contributions gratefully received!

Spinny out