We are off to Paris for Thanksgiving, where, I am told, it is cold, wet, and windy. I am armoured up with raincoats, scarves, and rain hats, and cannot WAIT to do lots of walking, and attempt my long-forgotten French. Also, the Smalls are with their father, so it is something of a mini-honeymoon for Beloved and I- no turkey for me this Thanksgiving, hopefully Steak frites instead.

I have been busy, busy, BUSY. The Hugh Grant interview ran in Parade. Click here to read on Parade.com. You will see that I thoroughly enjoyed meeting him, and wish our lunch could have gone on for hours. I was TERRIFICALLY nervous in the beginning, and didn’t shut up at all. Poor man. He could hardly get a word in. I was mortified when it came time to listen to the tape. I still have lots and lots to talk to him about, and am hoping we can continue our conversation another time - I have promised him lunch again when he is next in New York.

A week later Harrison Ford took me for a helicopter ride to Malibu. It was a very different interview. More formal, less relaxed, but I will say he struck me as being an exceptionally kind man. Also, it may well have been the coolest day of my life, and I am now a superhero in the eyes of my kids who are OBSESSED with Star Wars. Also, I emailed his assistant a week later to ask her which of his planes were in the hanger that day, and could she send me a list. An hour later, my assistant walked in, her face white, clutching the phone. “Are you available for Harrison Ford?” she asked.

It was entirely unecessary for him to call, but says much about him. That, my friends, is a good man.

The Harrison Ford interview will be coming up in Parade. I update Twitter regularly, and that’s the best place to find out what I’m doing and with whom.

Last Monday I took part in the Algonquin Round Table, and sat next to Albert Maysles, who, with his brother, made the original Grey Gardens. He was beyond delightful, and I plan on having him over for lunch very soon and quizzing him relentlessly about the Edie’s. I shouldn’t think he will mind, because he is a wonderful raconteur, and filled with stories. On my other side was Joel Stein, writer for Time. I have been a huge fan of his writing for years, and he kept refilling my brandy glass, which is always going to be a bit of a win, so when we left Beloved accused me of ‘crushing’ on Mr Stein.

I tried to deny it, but okay, okay… maybe just an eency, tweency bit (as mini-me would say). And as my fashionista friend always says about having crushes, I’m married, not dead.

Also, an interview I did for bizymoms.com:  Bizymoms.com

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

PLEASE JOIN US FOR AN EVENING
OF CONVERSATION, COCKTAILS, AND CHAT

TO COMMEMORATE
THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY
OF

DOROTHY PARKER’S ALGONQUIN ROUND TABLE

The Algonquin Hotel

Monday November 16th, 2009

7pm-9pm
59 West 44th Street, New York, NY
Join us for a Commemorative Symposium of Wit and Wisdom Featuring the Unique Perspectives of Jane Green, Joel Stein, Paula Froelich, Michael Musto and Albert Maysles.

Moderated by Nat Benchley, Author and Grandson Of Original Algonquin Round Table Member, Robert Benchley

Tickets $100 With a Portion of the Proceeds to Benefit FIRST BOOK.  This organization provides NEW BOOKS TO CHILDREN IN NEED:  www.FirstBook.org.

Please purchase tickets in advance only: www.paypal.com

The Algonquin Hotel commemorates the 90th Anniversary of the famed Algonquin Round Table, a celebrated group of New York writers, critics, actors and, most memorably, incredible wits, who met nearly every day for lunch at The Algonquin Hotel from 1919-1929.

Often referred to as “The Ten Year Lunch”, the group’s charter members included Robert Benchley, Marc Connelly, Edna Ferber, George S. Kaufman, Alexander Woollcott, Heyward Broun, Franklin P. Adams, Robert Sherwood, Frank Case and, most famously, Dorothy Parker. These great minds thrived on witty repartee and incisive criticism, which is why they are often also referred to as the “Vicious Circle”.