Sonnet And Jade's Contribution

I try to make sure she knows she is loved. Sonnet enjoys a busy time thanks to London Fashion Week and the opening of Hats, which will be reviewed shortly by Suzy Menkes (hail hail hail). Last night she dines at Clark's Restaurant with the former Fashion Editor of the Daily Mail from the 70's - she was the only female editor of a national paper at the time, reaching an audience of six-million. Today, in her 70s, she retains her influence and eccentricity (this is Britain and fashion, afterall). For instance, she wears black-rimmed sunglasses 24-7. Also joining is the Head of V&A publications. Me, I get to stay home with the kids and on balance, I do believe that I have the better evening. Sally Clark BTW apprenticed with Alice Waters at Chez Penise before opening her restaurant in '83 in Notting Hill. It is one of our favorites and takes me straight to Shattuck Avenue though of course not quite the same - the Chez transplendent while Clark's simply excellent though both adhere to strict local sourcing and simple and imaginative menu. Sonnet rolls in around 11PM and I'm already sound asleep - in fact, and I'm not embarrassed to note this, I'm asleep by 8PM reading only to wake up an hour later to find Eitan listening to Manchester United vs. Inter Milan on the wireless (Eitan, excitedly: "It is the best of England versus the best of Italy!"). I order him to bed and get the usual grumble, you always tell me what to do, I can stay up as late as I want, blah blah.

I have purposely avoided Jade Goody who you may know is dying of cancer. Goody made her fame on the original season of Big Brother and then again revisiting the program in 2007 with Indian celebutard Shilpa Shetty who she offended in a British sort of way - Goody's ethnic suggestions unintentional nor meaning harm yet what the country thinks en privé. The show caused rioting in Mumbai. I have always found Goody uninteresting despite her 15-minutes of fame and public fascination. So today she is dying and was to be separated from her fiancé who otherwise jailed for 18 months. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw intervenes so the pair may spend their wedding night together - and the entire country transfixed. It is like Big Brother on steroids. On cocaine. Today Radio 4's Women's Hour does a lengthy segment on when it is OK to re-marry following the death of a partner. Jade announces she wants her husband to find love "when the time is right" whenever that may be. This on the cover of many of the dailies. It is pornography or worse - drawing from some low-brow's misery. Warhol would be entranced. Still, I admire Goody's courage - her efforts may help destigmatise cancer which is otherwise often suffered by families in silence or shame. This may be her important contribution to our society generally and she deserves credit for this, rather than her tabloid.