The suspense is over !

“Where Have I Been All My Life?”

is the winning title in the contest to name my forthcoming  memoir.

The title, submitted by Graydon Feinstein, a college student from Studio City, Calif. leapt out at me from the hundreds suggested by fans from literally around the world.

Indeed, “Where Have I been All My Life?” is a question I’ve asked myself countless times over the years, but when it came time to name my autobiography, it didn’t spring to mind.  Thank you, Graydon, for offering what I hope will be an intriguing title attached to a bestseller !

Graydon, a fan of “Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)”, “The Saint”, and in particular “The Prisoner” will receive an autographed photo of his choice (to add to his growing collection of 60’s series stills) and a personally inscribed copy of “Where Have I Been All My Life” upon publication.

I want to thank all of you who took the time & effort to help me name my book.  So many of the suggested titles were creative and off-the-wall that I had quite a few sleepless nights selecting just one.

And I want to thank Alex Lewczuk, Siren Radio host, for helping to bring the contest to a much wider audience than I could’ve hoped for.

Please keep tuned to these billboards for news of the publication date for the book.

I value your interest & comments.

All best wishes,

Annette

A title for my book

At long last!  I’ll be announcing the winner of the contest to name my autobiography on Midweek Drive hosted by Alex Lewczuk this Wednesday, 30^th Jan. at 6.05pm UK time.  Tune in live on www.sirenonline.co.uk or download the broadcast .

I received hundreds  of entries from around the world, many of them truly intriguing, clever & off-the-wall imaginative.  Picking the winner gave me too many sleepless nights – but- select one I did & I couldn’t be happier !  I hope you’ll agree that the winning title has all the ingredients of a best seller! (At least I hope so !)

So please let me hear from you & let me know what you think of my choice.  The book will be coming out sometime this year (no firm date set yet).  I’ll make sure you’ll be alerted well in advance.

Also on the show Alex & I will talk about the launch of an exciting auction to be held in aid of Alexandra Bastedo’s  ‘Champions  Animal  Sanctuary.’   Alexandra, a friend & star of the 60’s TV series “The Champions” is facing crushing vet bills and is in great need of help from all who love animals.

Please listen to the broadcast for details of the auction and watch this space for news of how you can participate and come away with a truly unique TV memorabilia.

Cheers,

Annette

 

Having troubled sleep this week?   Demon dreams unrelieved by violent tossing & turning?  The bed sheets damp with night sweats?

Not to worry now that the end of the world is at hand.  Come December 21^st. your troubles are over – along with every creature on the planet………at least according to the Mayan calendar whose daily marking of the days since ancient times came to an abrupt and final halt on that date.

To celebrate (is that too perverse?) this predicted apocalypse,  I and a stellar number of illuminaries  will be guests on a 25hr radio marathon broadcast on Siren FM.   Beginning at 5pm (UK time)  on Dec. 20^th through to 6pm on Friday, 21^st Dec., host Alex Lewczuk will oversee a truly Trans-Atlantic show in collaboration with Siren’s sister station in Los Angeles.

Guests include internationally famous actors , actresses, writers & directors and yours truly.  I’ll be doing my two-cents worth on Thursday Dec. 20^th at 6pm (UK time).

It isn’t every day that the world may evaporate (my choice!), so I hope you’ll tune in live on http://www.sirenonline.co.uk    (or  download the entire broadcast on http://www.southsidebroadcasting.podbean.com/ ) and enjoy what may be our last hurrah.

For those of you sympathetic to ancient ways, stay tuned at 7pm (UK time) when Alex interviews my husband, Arthur Weingarten.  A television producer-writer, (“Man From U.N.C.L.E”, “Adams Family”, “Murder She Wrote” etc.)  he remains computer clueless.  No doubt he’ll offer some retro support for the Mayan calendar, if for nothing more than it was made by hand !  He’s living proof that some things never change.

And on the long-shot gamble that the Mayans addition was faulty & we’re still here on the 22^nd I wish all a wonderful holiday season and a healthy & peaceful New Year!

Cheers,

 

Annette

 

It was wonderful seeing my old friend, Sir Roger Moore, yesterday on the “Today” show, a popular morning TV talk show here promoting his new book “Bond On Bond”. Although he & the host joked about Roger's creaky knees & assorted ailments, he looked handsome as ever & thankfully indestructible.

It's the Bond series of films 50^th anniversary. Sir Roger starred in seven of them, & brought his wit & polish to the roles, just as he did when I guest-starred with him in “The Saint” TV series back in the 60's – days filled with hard work made a 'piece of cake' because of Rogers' seemingly endless store of funny stories and a shared love of practical jokes.

I've just received my copy of the book & I can assure you of a page-turning read filled with the kind of inside, behind the scenes information only Roger could deliver. Do yourself a real favour & pick up a copy – and maybe one or two more as xmas gifts.

I also want to thank him for his kindness in writing the introduction to my memoirs. Oh yes, I'm still hard at work on the book & have quite a way to go. This is no easy task I've set myself !!

All the best to everyone,

Annette

Beating the Odds Again

We live on a mountain top in the Hudson Valley in upstate NY. Forests, wildlife, gorgeous views, beauty all around. Sounds ideal? Of course, until.....you're in the middle of a storm system like 'Sandy' or last year's 'Irene'. I must say both of which we survived without damage to ourselves or the house. But each time the inevitable loss of power, water & phones. Last year we were without all this for over a week & now it's been 3 days & still waiting. It's a rural area so we can't just drive into the town for dinner or to see a movie as they have no power either . Long black nights changing batteries in the lamps, no water for hot showers or just run the tap to fill the kettle, not to mention the inoperable loos !! Or the dead phones.

Once past these complaints you suddenly realize that you haven't a worry compared to the millions of people here on the East Coast of America & into the mid-West who have suffered flooding, fires & loss of life in these violent & unprecedented storms. If there is any good to be made of these natural disasters it's an awareness of what fragile creatures we are, living on a planet that is hurtling through space, and quite alone until proved otherwise.

But we are a resilient species, and time after time we overcome & bound back hopefully wiser & stronger than before. I see this around me here in this rural area constantly.

Not an hour before writing this we saw hope driving up our road bringing light & power & a new transmission pole on the back of a huge utility truck. As we passed we cheered & the driver acknowledged with a big laugh. Hope springs eternal !

Cheers, Annette

My Wake-up Call

Just when you think you know what you're talking about, on top of your game, along comes something to shake you back to reality.

My wake-up call came in the shape of Ed Wellman, a student at Lincolnshire University.   Last week, at the end of my monthly radio broadcast on Alex Lewczuk's “Midweek Drive” on Southside Broadcasting,

this one on the desperate plight of Africa's elephants being poached to the brink of extinction to feed China's obsession for ivory – Alex asked if any of the show's studio guests had a question for me.

“Not a question”, Ed Wellman said, “but rather a confession.” He went on to say that he'd recently learned that almost half the people didn't know that elephants had to be killed for their tusks. They thought that the animals were trapped, the tusks cut off & the elephant released unharmed.

“I have to confess”, he said,” that I was one of them.”

It shocked me because it had never dawned on me that everyone wasn't aware of the bloody slaughter of elephants for the Chinese use of ivory as a status symbol for wealth & power.

So much for taking things for granted.

I wonder how many of you were unaware of how ivory is collected? Please let me hear from you on this point. Because I'm passionate about saving this wondrous creature from vanishing, I need to know all I can learn about communicating their desperate situation to a wide audience.

If you didn't hear my talk on Oct 3^rd you can download it on http://www.southsidebroadcasting.podbean.com/

Please become involved & together we can work to stop this senseless massacre. You can learn more about this also at: http://www.bornfree.org.uk/

Thank you all. Please check in to this page for updates. I'm not the most consistent, but I get there & hopefully more often.

Cheers, Annette

Hello everyone, it's been awhile but I'm 'blogging' again.

Where has the year gone?!! It seems like a week ago I finished packing up the xmas lights & decorations & was trying on my spring clothes.

I've been working feverishly on my memoirs & making what seems like reasonable progress (although I've seen paint dry faster!)

I want to make an especially heartfelt request that you tune-in or download my radio talk this coming Wed. 3^rd October, at about 5.20pm UK time on:

 http://www.southsidebroadcasting.podbean.com/

My topic is the increasing slaughter of thousands upon thousands of African elephants to feed China's ever-growing lust for carved ivory trinkets & dinner table centrepieces .

Once a tribal way for Africans to supplement their diet & for the occasional sale of tusks to a trader, poaching is now run by criminal gangs with international ties. Ivory has become the new blood diamonds more valuable than gold.

I'll be talking about how you, as an individual, can help to stop this senseless massacre.

Also appearing on the show is Will Travers, head of the Born Free Foundation (my favourite animal welfare charity, hands down!) He'll talk about the BFF's campaign to halt the ivory trade and how all of us can help to make a cultural change to save our planets' largest living creature.

Please, as a very real personal favour to me, tune in & become involved.

All best wishes,

Annette