to be bored with myself and to want to become a Jilly Cooper character for the winter?

[BalloonSlayer]

I want to sit in front of a fire of apple logs, wearing only a Dark Blue towel.

I want a rosy-cheeked face which I have to tone down with green foundation, instead of looking like a corpse unless I put on loads of blusher.

I want to drink three quarters of a bottle of Moet before doing ANYTHING. (Including: getting up in the morning or taking an important exam.)

I want an Absolutely Filthy Mini instead of a people carrier.

I want DH to do thumb exercises so that the ball of his thumb becomes pudgy because apparently that's sexy or something .

I want to lose loads and loads of weight every time I am a bit sad about something, so that everyone who thought I was a minger before is suddenly struck by my beauty, instead of eating cakes to cheer myself up and getting fatter.

AIBU?

I'm thinking I may re-invent myself style-wise according to the GoodBook of JC. Firtly I shall stop using this typing-machine and get dressed (I am naturally typing in a husky and pants with scurf and a cat on my shoulders). I will lose three stone within fifteen minutes by eating grapefruit and pining. Then I will cut my hair and wear a flying suit or a crushed velvet frock.

Voila, beating gorgeous wealthy men off with sticks.Then of course my skin will be fabulous because I am having so much sex.Cheaper even than oil based cleansing.

shaving the bush and toning down with green foundation as we speak...

not forgetting to slap on the man-tan obviously

Am looking forward to it madly.

Be sure to drench yourself in scent rather than perfume

God, I am another JC-lover I don't like her books being described as chick-lit, really, as they are somehow cleverer than that, and written with such a sense of humour. I find it bizarre that I can read and be absorbed into a set of people who live in a different world, and yet begin to empathise with them, even though I have hee-haw hope of ever living in their world!

I have to say, despite loving Riders/ Rivals/ Polo, I wasn't keen on Pandora, and was really disappointed in Wicked, although SCore and Appassionata were OK. I read Polo one summer while I was a student and working away from home in a godawful job- any chance I got I picked it up and escaped into complete la-la land- bliss! Possibly the problem with Wicked was that it was set in too, well, ordinary an environment?

Have to add, though- Taggie's "cloud" of hair always troubled me- why was it like a cloud? and was that meant to be a good thing, or should she have been using some sort of serum?

Anyone read Jilly's "The common years?". I liked that she could write a book about her mad dogs and the people she met while out walking them. Didn't her husband have an affair? I felt so sad for her.

Taggie C-B left me cold. She should have stuck two fingers up to her leeching relatives, downed an E and shagged Bas after the Hunt Ball on her birthday. And then give Rupert chlamydia for sticking his hand up her skirt and dropping the meringue castle over the fracas-drenched Cameron, shortly to be clad in one of Mousie's geoowns.

Patrick O'Hara on the other hand, yum.

lol at Mousie's ge-owns.

I too read the Common Years. It was really good.

LeQueen, you know I love you but you are gtting it all wrong re Jilly.

Can't believe this thread is still going < preen >

Jooly I think I shall start saying that my hair is not frizzy with loads of split ends and grey roots showing, but a "cloud of dark hair glittered with silver."

I think one of the things I like about JC's characters is that they are not perfect. They always have a weakness. They certainly are cliches but they still come across as reasonably real people who go to the loo, worry that they haven't washed their hair and have a range of frequently unreasonable and objectionable prejudices against others.

I struggle with heroines in books who never have an unkind thought. My favourite female character in a book is - as KatieScarlett will probably agree - Scarlett O'Hara. She can be downright unpleasant but you still root for her because you understand her.

My secondhand copies of Riders, Rivals and Polo have just arrived from Amazon. We are in process of buying house in a small village in Gloucestershire and this thread has inspired me to read some Jilly for the first time!

Oh BOO you will never get packed now hahahaha!

Re Bas's moustache. Hateful things BUT they are v v good sometimes, they tickle

Lucky Boo.

Sarah, whatever can you mean?

Indeed BalloonSlayer, Scarlett O'Hara is my favourite heroine of all time even though she had crap taste in men (until the end).

Going to start a "how often does your DH wash his facial hair thread" [hgrin]

Wonders if DH has ever considered growing facial hair.......

Bumped into this thread after all this time - it had me crying with laughter first time round.

Definitely one for MN Classics

This has just cheered up a dull Friday night, bump for classics.

I was hoping the reason this had reappeared in AIBU was because MN were announcing the webchat...

Having watched BBC4 last night I'm wondering if Georgie Maguire was supposed to be a vaguely Stevie Nicks/Christine McVie type character?

I've revived the webchat thread in Site Stuff. Tad more badgering required.