Hollywood superstar

How to break into film in three easy steps - go to LA, hang round a film set, sign the release form when they ask if you want to be an extra. Well it was actually Venice Beach, just outside LA and they were filming a low budget TV series not a movie, but that's what happened this morning. I got to sit in the background as they shot and re-shot a scene with the presenter of a show called "The World's Funniest Commercials". The presenter is apparently only famous for starring in a US TV advert.

A quick catch up: The day before yesterday I visited the Hearst Castle - the fabulous mansion of William Randolph Hearst. Unfortunately it was pouring down and the castle was enveloped in fog, so I didn't see it at its best, but what a testament to unlimited wealth! The picture shows the indoor swimming pool. The walls are covered in a mosaic of glass tiles made in Italy and gold leaf. I got thoroughly cold and wet so it was lovely that evening when they lit a log fire at the little youth hostel at San Luis Obispo. A few of us ended up sitting round in front of the fire trying to do an impossible jugsaw puzzle.


Yesterday I completed the drive down the coast - to Santa Monica and then dropped the car off - which was easier said than done in the LA traffic, and I'd completely misjudged the scale of the map when I looked up directions to the car hire place.


Today, apart from becoming a screen actress, I've had a lazy day, pottering around Santa Monica and Venice Beach, sitting on the beach, walking along the boardwalk, and generally people-watching. This is a good place for doing that - it's full of oddballs, and lots of them want to be watched!


Last night my computer decided to install some updates. As a result I have lost the programme that made it really easy to improve my photos, and it's been replaced by one which makes it impossible, so from now on I will actually have to think about lining up the horizon.