Titanic Candy Floss.....

Near, Far, Where ever you are...100 years have passed since the world`s most famous ship sinking. I have been asked twice while reading to children when there has been a mention of the Titanic,if I was on it when it went down...sorry ROPS guys but the answer is NO!
Kate and William celebrate their 1st Anniversary!
The Real Reason Jacko Gill quit the Olympics....
Rhys Darby has a secret heartache...heavens knows what it is!
Bobbi Kristina is doing a reality show?
Rihanna is pining for Ashton Kutcher.. are they kidding?
Joel Madden and Delta Goodrem tell why they click..
Are Kanye and Kim really on??? Well he has a K name....
One Direction are a big hit in Australia, lets hope the girls on this side of the Ditch show more restraint this week!!!
J.Lo gives Casper a birthday present he couldn`t afford himself... a customised Dodge Ram Utility! Way too go Jen!!
Beyonce and J.Z. share their holiday with us...snaps that is!
What really caused Danni and Kris to split?
Jay and Anna get engaged and so do Brad and Angelina!!
A supposed cousin of Jennifer Aniston`s has blurted that he is helping to arrange her Big Fat Greek Weeding in Crete, guess he won`t be now!
Paul Henry takes a Romantic Cruise...
Julia Roberts and Naomi Watts enjoy the sea with their children, while Pink`s cute little girl Willow goes for a whizz with Mum and Dad.
A week later and Beatrice and Eugenie are out in their first official capacity with Granny, while cousin Louise comes a cropper on her horse and breaks her arm.
North and South is out and asks are young people becoming accidentally addicted to pain killers like Oxy Contin(Hillybilly Heroin) and should we be aware that this dangerous drug is to put it mildly, addictive. We know that Michael Jackson and Courtney Love had big problems with this drug and yet its being prescribed here, if its caused a death is it wise to give it out?
Animal Testing... is it right or is it wrong?
A terribly sad bike accident raises the question of why is there so much Death By Bicycle in New Zealand? and what can we do about it?
La Leche League answers its critics....
A very poignant essay.
As always great columns, beautiful layout, divine recipes and great book reviews!

More Room in a Broken Heart..The True Adventures of Carly Simon by Stephen Davis

And adventures she certainly has had! The epitome of the adage Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll, this wonderfully talented Singer/Songwriter has lived her life to the full with all its joys and heartbreaks.
Born into a wealthy and successful family with a heaping of dysfunction in the mix, like her siblings musical and artistic talent was a given, the pathway through life should have been smooth and easy but it was not, many helping hands had very mixed motives especially when it came to the stunning Carly and the nurturing versus exploitation of her talent and her sexuality, heatbreak and misfortune have been hers.
A hard worker, a perfectionist, a very troubled and anxious young lady, Carly hit the gate running and  has kept herself very busy and us mightily entertained since the 70`s. Married to the troubled and drug addicted James Taylor, it was a coupling that brought and shared many gifts far and wide but took a tremendous personal toll on each and left both depleted and enriched for the experience though neither may see it that way.It would be hard to think of another musical coupling in modern time that has contributed so much and continues to do so.
Very easy to read, if a little blowsy in the first few chapters, the authors insider status has not harmed the book and many of the stories he shares would be publicly related for the first time here, there is however a tendency to put a few too many unrelated facts in every now and again which does detract from the narrative and there were times where one paragraph about a subject would have sufficed, there were also some issues that were raised and we can only assume they were resolved as we aren`t actually told, the person just pops back up which was slightly disconcerting. However this is is likely to be the best recounting we get of Carly Simon`s life and it more than hits the mark, the photographs and illustrations are excellent and the cover is gorgeous.
This book does much to bring the life and the work of Carly Simon and her contemporaries back into the spotlight, it honours her life and her work, shows her influences and was a thought provoker in someways... Your So Vain but who are you? and a question answerer in others..Carly look, there`s clouds in your coffee.

Sins of the Father by Eamonn Duff

The story of Schapelle Corby, tried, convicted and incarcerated in a Bali Jail has long fascinate mainly because those surrounding her have been vigilant and vocal in using the media to proclaim her innocence and her jail house suffering both which may be true. Found with Marijuana in her boogie bag in  October 2004 while passing through customs on the way to a sun filled holiday Schapelle has never left Bali.
Duff has done a very good job of writing this book, he has obviously spent a huge amount of time researching, following leads, tracking down those who would wish to be left alone and writing a very readable book indeed.The vividness of his characters brings them to life on the page and good, bad or indifferent, you won`t have any problem in forming your own opinion about them, their possible agendas, motives and reasons for co-operating with Duff all give you pause for thought. Most people in Australia and New Zealand do have a view on this case and it has been debated endlessly, Schapelle has her own book out there but in cases like this it is often hard to sort the chaff from the wheat when self interest and preservation is likely to be a writers guiding principle in the case of Corby`s own book.
There is know doubt whatsoever that Duff believes Corby was a drug runner who for what ever reason got caught that fateful day, a mule for others, either willingly or unwittingly doing what others needed her to do.Duff believes her late father Mick was behind the run and paints a history of a man with many unanswered questions and a family whose stories don`t always add up. The book has caused huge controversy and many Corby supporters don`t like the book or Duff at all, that is their right but it is also Duff`s right to write the book, make his assertions and face the music. This case needed a good book written about it and Duff has done the job, while maintaining his intractable viewpoint he has been fair and even handed to all as much as is possible and like most of us he agrees that Corby has well and truly served her sentence and should have been freed long ago.

It's So Easy and Other Lies by Duff McKagan

There have been many books written about the rise and fall of the original Guns and Roses, some very good others less so. This book falls into the first category, written by a true insider it details the journey that McKagan took from an ordinary boyhood in a family riven with great values and work ethic and ended up a drug addled, alcoholic in the one of the greatest bands of our time, to say that death knocked on Duff's door is a major understatement.
A very honest book written by a man who for all the ups and downs his golden journey took, doesn't point fingers or play the blame game. He paints a picture that resonates with the power and warning of how little steps can lead to major downfall and how for all the values his loving and hardworking parents instilled in him, addiction and illness took the upper hand when given the lead. This book rolls along nicely, its narrative is simple and yet the complexities of a life surrounded with fame, money, alcohol, drugs, fighting, bickering, sex and music are all there as the course is chartered and the reality unfolds. A reality that cost a number of lives and has continuing consequences for the members of this band and many who were touched by their light, sobriety versus death is not an easy equation to balance.
Gritty and real yet honest and enlightening, this is a book that takes you deep into the workings of an industry that really tends to be all glitz and no heart.
McKagan takes you right into the heart of Guns and Roses, which while a many splendored and talented vessel, left a pile of carnage and a body of amazing music. McKagan himself, a happy family man these days strikes me as having a Big Heart indeed. Well worth reading.

Dear Cary, My Life with Cary Grant by Dyan Cannon

This is the year for memories of Cary Grant to float to the surface, only a few months ago his only daughter Jennifer published her rather mawkish memories of her adoring and devoted father. It is now the turn of Grants 3rd wife, Actress and Director Dyan (Diane) Cannon to write her rather searing version of life with the gentlemen who was considered one of old time Hollywoods most suave and debonair leading men.
A very young Dyan met Grant when he was 58 after he actively made overtures via friends and contacts, thinking that he wanted to discuss a film role Cannon eventually gave in and they met, a resulting relationship evolved. A relationship characterised by romantic gestures, generosity sprinkled with increasing ingenuity by  Grant who took to calling the rather immature and naive Dyan...Silly Girl or Dear Girl, from contrasting backgrounds Grant had a dysfunctional family to say the least and Cannon a stable middle class if religiously diverse family. To all appearances their wants and needs appeared to be aligned but Grant increased the mind games, the unexplained absences and the continuous fault finding while making Cannon into his ideal and then crushing even that when feeling challenged and or remorse. He made it clear that marriage was not on his agenda while Cannon equally made it clear that it was on hers as was a family.
The high life was certainly overwhelming to Cannon but it appears she maintained a balance until Grant revealed his real plans for her, she was to find herself as he had through LSD, it took alot of persuasion but after many months Cannon relented and set herself on a path that was to bring devastating consequences but long after she shucked Sauvi boy she found herself and without the drugs. Along with the LSD came uppers, downers, coldness, silence, rages, withdrawal (emotionally and physically) a meanness that was unbelievable. Dyan had a dog named Bangs who she had had for a while, after giving birth to Jennifer (Grants only child) she arrived home to find that Cary had given away Bangs and that was that. His control was absolute, he told her concerned father she was under his juristicion and that was the end of any intervention by her family, he controlled her body, mind and soul and he was unrelenting.
Divorce followed and Cannon has gone on to make a real success of her life, a Hollywood Power broker with a resume that dazzles. Grant remarried and died at 82. For Jennifers sake they maintained a civil relationship and by all accounts the married and now a mother herself Jennifer has grown into a lovely woman, as a father Grant appears to have done good.
One walks a way from this book after reading Dyans letter of forgiveness to Cary with a wonderment at her spirit of generosity towards this man who frankly was horrible, mean spirited, nasty and morally wanting, his own dreadful relationship with his parents was no excuse for his behaviour which included pushing a very dangerous drug on his young wife even when she was carrying their child. How deluded is that.

Found..a daughters journey home by Tatum O`Neal

Tatum O`Neal is the daughter of actor Ryan O` Neal and his first wife Joanna Moore, an actress herself, she was the wife of John McEnroe and is the mother of 3 children. This is her second book, her first A Paper Life was an excellent read as is this.
Tatum had an unconventional and dysfunctional upbringing to say the least, it lead her to serious drug and drink issues which severely impacted on her ability to function as a mother and as a human being. Much of the blame is laid at the doorstep of her father and in this case that is probably the place to put it,although she acknowledges the responsibility of others charged with caring for the young Tatum and Griffin.
A fair and honest portrait, this is a lady who excepts her own failures and deals with them, all the while trying to rebuild the fractured relationship she has with the highly immature and volatile Ryan O`Neal. Her mother is dead and her brother Griffin is a bigger train wreck than she is. Stepmother Farrah Fawcett(the term is used loosely) appears to simply not have even the slightest ability to understand the needs of the children brought into her life and really this lack of understanding must have transferred itself to her parenting of her son Redmond who spends the bulk of his time in jail...sad, sad, sad.
Addiction and bad temperedness course through the O`Neal veins with disastrous consequences for anyone who comes into contact with them, few escape their emotional havoc.
Tatum writes with an acceptance, a lack of bitterness, a dash of anger here and there and a great sense of humour, how she has kept it I don`t know but she sounds like a fun lady with a ton of dissolving baggage.
Her desire to be a family as she imagines a family would be, is a work in progress but she is a strong and brave lady. I would imagine anyone would enjoy this book but those with issues similar to her`s would find it very helpful.

Not Dead and Not For Sale by Scott Weiland and David Ritz..A memoir...

I read this in a day and that speaks to the books ability to captivate and hold you which it does. With well chosen words and well healed phrases Weiland and his co-author David Ritz take you on a heroin and booze plagued journey that leaves you gasping and wondering How the Hell is He still Standing let alone writing, recording and performing.
The lead singer of The Stone Temple Pilots (never heard them in my life) is a very talented man word wise and his book is dotted throughout with snippets, snatches, drawings and poetry that would make you cry (and I hate poetry!) great photos,wonderful drawings, heartfelt, honest, lyrical, magical in places and yet the double side of his reality is so very clearly shown, gritty, stark, hopeless, wasted, in and out of rehab like a yoyo,relationships that simply can't work, love that is defeated at every turn, a dead brother, dysfunctional relationships with his family, situations that simply can`t be mended and Bands that find functioning other than for the dollar very hard work indeed.
Weiland is a very creative man and as long as he continues to fight his demons and win,his creativity will enhance the lives of those who come in contact with it.
I had already read Mary Forsberg Weiland's book but I've done a little dipping to try and get a complete picture of a situation that I`ve read from both points and I`ve come to realise that both are writing their truth, we may not agree with it but it belongs to them and how they choose to interpret and tell it is their business, every reader would take away different things from their narratives, so really why shouldn't the authors.
A big thank you to Claire Hammon for lending me this book.

Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott

A beautifully written book about a very delicate, tricky and devastating topic - teenagers and drugs.
James and Elizabeth realise after being surrounding by ever increasing evidence that their daughter Rosie is not quite the girl they thought she was, in fact her life has descended into lies, lies and more lies but tressing a downward spiral that threats to engulf them all. The back story is littered with the pain of early death and mental illness and the desperate search by the adults for a satisfying and fulfilling life that they so fervently wish for along with money and a regular, high achieving child.
The realisation that Rosie is far more devious, cunning and drug addled than they believe causes them to take drastic action that finally leads them all into the warmth of redemption. The characters are well drawn, warts and all, there are times when you like them and boy are there times when you don't, people in pain is never easy to read but Lamott has the ability to lift you over it while never lessening your shared experience.
Small towns are a minefield in many cases not the utopia we may imagine, the problems are just the same especially for the young.  Elizabeth's fragility and then strength in the face of possible disaster and Rosie's cunningness and manipulative abilities are highlights. This book is peppered with a cast of backing characters who really hold their own and add a wide variety of nuances to the book which serve to both expand and enhance it.

Life by Keith Richards

Known to most people as Keef, this Rolling Stone has lead a truly interesting life. The highs, the lows, the sex, the drugs are all packed into this marvellously engaging 500 plus page read. In true Rock Royalty style Keith leaves little to the imagination while managing to retain his and his many friends dignity except in the case of Mick Jagger whose appendage is described in less than flattering terms although in fairness to Mick, Jerry Hall has run to his defence and with 7 children to account we can guess that size does not matter!! From his early very humble beginnings to enormous wealth and fame, he and his co-author James Fox manage to keep things tightly plotted but lyrical and beguiling at the same time,you do feel that you are sharing in his Rock N Roll journey and really you could be sitting in the local chatting away about times and places past, he also keeps it honest and calls a spade a spade when he feels it necessary. He didn't have much time for Brian Jones and or New Zealand at certain times and made a rather interesting comment re the much exalted Bob Marley.
All in all this book is better by a country mile than many of the pompous tomes that clog this genre and well rewards the reader! You don't have to be a Stones fan either....