Three hundred posts! The heck with "Intro" and "Help," this is the real heart of this Conference! Cheryl, as Drooler-in-Chief, aren't you proud? ;-)

Donna: A&E production of P&P2 was televised for several weeks in 1995 like a miniseries (sorry if I got your hopes up for another version) ;-)

Or was it 1996? More coffee, please.

Sorry but Anna Cecily that is not what I meant. If you are a new person here, you would not know what RE: Response (#299) you were referring to because there is no Ref: to it.

'Cheryl, as Drooler-in-Chief, aren't you proud? ;-)' I guess Cheryl hasn't answered because she's busy having some chocolate.

Wendy: Another Daggy version here, too - SDeckerCPA@aol.com

No kidding. There's something seriously wrong with the world if the hormonally-driven topic doesn't have the highest volume of trade...but still, I don't think CF has looks good enough to be worth 306 drools...

] CF has looks good enough to be worth 306 drools... I haven't reread the whole topic, but I seem to remember a few off-topic drools...

Hey, Anna! And yes, you're right...there have been some off-topic drools...I'm just giving everyone a hard time! ;)

]I'm just giving everyone a hard time! ;) Kali!

What?! Why not? :)

Anne3: Three hundred posts! The heck with "Intro" and "Help," this is the real heart of this Conference! Cheryl, as Drooler-in-Chief, aren't you proud? ;-) Ladies, ladies...I am but your humble servant, but I am pleased and proud to have led you, my troops, into the daggy battlefield and come out victorious with the prize of 312 drooling messages! Keep up the good work and let us push onward to 400! Hilary: I guess Cheryl hasn't answered because she's busy having some chocolate. ...and it was good for me, too! ;-p

..and it was good for me, too! ;-p But, did you same me any?

Myretta, dear, come to Pemberley and find out! ;-)

Kali: But C.F. as Darcy DOES look good enough for 300 drools (and counting). But I do whole heartedly agree with you that Firth as himself doesn't cut it. In fact, I saw those photos of him at TEP premier in L.A., and the looked pretty skanky. And who dresses him?

His mother?

Cheryl: What is the best time to check out Pemberly?

Sharon...early morning, PST, and 5-12, PST...though there are often people there at other times... I agree that the TEP premier photos were crappy, and that in spite of his usual skankiness, he makes the preemininent film Darcy. Still, having been listening to and engaging in the P&P2 BB Darcy drooling even before this topic got started here, and I've kinda been drooled out, ya know? ;)

I think he makes a cute Saint Nick.

Kali: Still, having been listening to and engaging in the P&P2 BB Darcy drooling even before this topic got started here, and I've kinda been drooled out, ya know? ;) My dear niece, if you are drooled out, then by all means do not feel it incumbant upon yourself to continue to do so, but also please do not hinder others from enjoying the experience. *samooch* ;-)

Yes, I would of liked if he had delivered my Xmas presents.....

I shan't, Auntie, I promise...but I imagine that this doesn't rule out a little good-humored razzing, does it? ;)

Kali - a word of advice: Just take a break. It comes back! Believe me, I went for about a couple of months when I thought I had gotten it out of my system. No book, no P&P2 on the VCR..and then I came across this conference center. The Darcy drool factor is back in FULL FORCE.

Kali - just watched Valmont for the first time - CF is definitely worth drooling over!!

Warning: Long Post Warning #2: Non-droolers kindly buzz off Attention all droolers: yesterday�s Sunday Independent (British newspaper) had a long interview with Colin Firth. Here are some highlights:The Failure of Valmont: I dredge up a memory of a conversation in which he privately ad mitted to a sense of grievance. Had you not laid claim to the memory I�d probably seek to deny that," he says now. "I can�t quite remember how I felt about it at that time. If you feel yourself marginalised slightly you can resent it and cherish it at the same time. I think you have a tendency to cling to the idea that you haven�t sold out, that you�re not mainstream because you�re too good to be mainstream. And at the same time you whinge about the fact that you�re not mainstream, privately o r otherwise. But it�s never eaten into me because I have always been involved enough in something." P&P A publicist who worked on one of his films says that, before Darcy, "you couldn�t give him away to the press. . . . The now-legendary story is that he hummed and haahed before accepting Mr. Darcy, acutely aware of the burden of expectat ion that would come with the role. He talks of a "fear of success," how it�s possible "to gravitate towards things that are doomed." He did turn down roles in a couple of huge British films, but it speaks well of his judgement that the actors who accept d them have not necessarily prospered. . . . Firth approached the role of Darcy no differently from any other he�s played. Ever since Judd in Another Country, he�s been cast for his ability to keep it all in, not let it all hang out. "I don�t fin d that I can define a character very well until I�ve given him big problems to deal with. If Mr. Darcy wants to have sex with Elizabeth Bennet, or he wants to scream at somebody or he wants to leave the room but he�s denying himself, you can create an in er struggle which cr eates a certain tension. Hopefully." Nostromo The novel is famously irreducible�"I was almost resentful of how difficult it was to get through it," he says�but for Firth the lead role basically came down to another study in humourlessness and withdrawal, another furtively dist urbed Englishman. So why play it? "It was curiosity. I felt that there was an awful lot more to Gould than met the eye. I found myself in the strange position of doubting what Conrad said about him�that the character had no sense of irony�and I wonder d whether that was a foreigner�s perception of an Englishman. It would be quite possible for a man like Gould to have a very strong sense of irony and for it to be invisible to somebody from Poland." On a less cerebral level, he was attracted by the hor se-riding, the explosions and the steamship�"a boy�s own instinct actually to go out on the big adventure, a childhood sense of why I wanted to be an actor." Acting/Love Scenes/Jennifer Ehle One of the mantras he learned to repeate [at the Drama Centre, where he trained] was "Make it more important to you." "The actor," he explains, "has got an awful lot of freedom to do a performance superficially, o r to go further with it. It�s quite conceivable that you�ll have an actor playing a scene in which his mother is dying who isn�t asking himself what that really would be like." . . . Later, in the bar, Firth is talking about his discovery of Caravaggio n Rome, and the transparent carnality of the relationship between the artist and some of his juvenile sitters. Well, Firth-watchers have been there too. Can a real-life subtext make the love scenes easier? "You mean with Jennifer? No, I don�t think it did. I don�t know. It�s impossible to know what it would have been like if things had been different. You can�t know. But I actually find that if you�re involved with an actress that you�re having to tell a love story with, it�s more difficult. I do �t find it easy to draw on it. Your relationship, your feelings aren�t the same as those of the characters. She�s not that person. And you�re not telling your own story. So I think you have to put all your own stuff aside completely and reconceive you r relationship as other people. So I think it stands in the way, to be honest." Fever Pitch/Pathology Fever Pitch is a delightful detour into comedy, of which he�d like to do more ("I don�t often get the funny lines, it�s true." Why not? "No one�s realised I can do comedy.") The film has provided Firth with his most autobiographical role yet. There�s a key speech where the narrator Paul tries to explain to his girlfriend why football makes him feel less rootless. "That was what made the connection for me," says Firth, who, even more than Hornby, is not really from anywhere. "That was the thing that struck me most when I read the book." Paul finds it easier to be emotional in the company of a thousand strangers on Arsenal�s North Bank than in bed with his girlfriend. That pathology is echoed in Firth, who is "awa re of the ironies of being on stage and being able to cope with feeling extremely exposed, and then in some personal relationship or other not being able to."The article ends by saying that Fever Pitch will be released in Britain on Ap il 4, and A Thousand Acres in the US in May. There are 4 photos.

Photos, Anne3, did I hear you say photos? Amy; IS there a person who has agreed to scan things in for us to put into our BB?

Photos, Anne3, did I hear you say photos? Amy; IS there a person who has agreed to scan things in for us to put into our BB?

There is a copyright problem with many photos.

Good find, Anne!

"he's been cast for his ability to keep it all in, not let it all hang out." Well, my goodness, this is not very consistant with our "Daggy" tread is it?

Anne3 ] "he's been cast for his ability to keep it all in, not let it all hang out." Candace ] Well, my goodness, this is not very consistant with our "Daggy" tread is it? Surely the daggy question was Where does he keep it? There was never any question of Mr Darcy letting it all hang out was there?

Having seen Colin Firth in a number of movies other than "P & P," I have become ever more convinced that he is definitely good-looking enough on his own, and is also an accomplished actor in the English tradition of "keeping it all in." I thought he was very handsome in "Nostromo" and can't wait to see "The English Patient." I'm afraid the drooling factor just increases with time!

Susan, yea - He was cute in nostromo. I personaly liked the facial hair.

Anne...thank you for sharing your find....the thought of photos out there that we can't see....it's too unbearable!

Does anyone know if there is a Colin Firth fan club anywhere...(I know everyone in this conference is his fan but I mean an official one)?

Linda, check out the Firthlist. Who knows to whom to write now that Robin ha abdicated? They used to ask you to email telling why you like Colin, then you get on the email discussion list. There is a small voluntary fee. There has been some discussion of a non-net real fan club, but some members of the Firthlist oppose the move. Hang out for a while on this, Linda, someone will help with the current pointers.

About the photos in the Independent article--there are four. The big one is a closeup, very strange in that his face is flatly inexpressive and unrevealing. It's shot against a ghastly yellow background which makes him look jaundiced to boot. The other s are from TEP, Nostromo and Fever Pitch. They are all new to me, but FP is the only one worth pining for. He looks cherubic and, well, adorable. (Excuse me . . . must find a handkerchief to mop my mouth with . . .)

About the photos in the Independent article--there are four. The big one is a closeup, very strange in that his face is flatly inexpressive and unrevealing. It's shot against a ghastly yellow background which makes him look jaundiced to boot. The other s are from TEP, Nostromo and Fever Pitch. They are all new to me, but FP is the only one worth pining for. He looks cherubic and, well, adorable. (Excuse me . . . must go find a handkerchief to mop my mouth with . . .)

re 331: I missed the Golden Globes, but told my husband I would find out from this bb whether CF was there. He helpfully pointed out that I would surely find out, ahem, more details of how he was dressed than anyone needs to know.

Anne, thank you for posting those articles. Sounds like an interesting man to me. I can see how a real love affair with your co-star could make the work more difficult, rather than less.

Jane...as much as I searched and searched...I could not see him anywhere at the Globes..however, when The English Patient won for best picture....the Director thanked several people...I only heard one name...guess who?

Jane...as much as I searched and searched...I could not see him anywhere at the Globes..however, when The English Patient won for best picture....the Director thanked several people...I only heard one name...guess who?

I watched the Golden Globes JUST to see whether Colin was there...but I didn't see him at TEP table either; perhaps at the Oscars? My eyes kept darting back and forth as the camera panned into the crowd. Am I pathetic or what? Linda, have you checked out the Friends of Firth website?

marina, you are probably not as pathetic as I am: I also watched the Golden Globes JUST to see whether Colin was there but I watched it live and it was 3:00 in the morning here in Israel... I didn't saw him there either, BTW.

Austen...are you really there in Israel...I love this WWW...it's wonderful to know that P&P has made an impact there....poor dear, having to wait until 3 a.m. Do you think that Colin may be at the Academy Awards...is it possible? That would certainly be my award, indeed!

Adi...just realized I typed the wrong name..I typed Austen (although not a bad name around here!). End of the day and I am brain dead...sorry!

Hi, Somebody mentioned they had just watched Valmont for the first time. How did you get hold of it (is it at the video store?) Many thanks. Paula

Yes, I rented Valmont.

Paula, I'm not sure where you are, but if you have a Just New Reeleases store near you, they often have a policy of finding a copy of videos like that for you.It's also for sale in some of the on-line video places, Like Movie Village.

Thanks to Ann3 for most interesting article on Firth and LOL on that hanky mopping excuse.I do not blame you. If I had a new photo...and you have got four....lucky girl!

I"ve also posted this in the "Newbie" section, but would somebody give me a real explanation of "daggy?" I've got the general idea; it just needs fleshing out.

Susan: I've got the general idea; it just needs fleshing out. I think you've got the correct definition there, Susan! ;-)

Maybe the Dagmistress herself should explain...Hilary? ;)

Ann2: ]If I had a new photo...and you have got four....lucky girl! Now you can have them too, Ann (and everyone else). Check out the following site: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/3891/newadds.htm There is a compendium of P&P photos (with the emphasis on Darcy) at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/3891/index.html Caveat: This site can be difficult to access--it took me three tries. And when you get in it's slow to load, because of all of the pictures. But patience will be rewarded. If you have time for only one, check out the Time Out photo from Fever P itch. It's enough to make a convert of even Kali.

Time Out photo is "great",but what about his thighs in soccer shorts. Did anybody think of that?

Cheryl, in a dry tune of voice: I think you've got the correct definition there,....oohhLOL repetedly and then Donna comments on thighs in soccer shorts. Did anybody think of that? Boy if ever I heard an understatement! Prodidgiously amused!! And to Ann3, heartfelt thanks for supplying pictures to a drooler in waiting.

You called? You are on the right track, Susan. But daggy is a multitask word,and should be used with care. Daggy is an Australianism. It derives from the word dag which is the term for the matted mess on a sheep's tail. Daggy has 3 main meanings: dirty or slovenly; lacking in style, or appearance; somewhat eccentric. The last two meanings are often be used affectionately. Someone can be 'a dag' too. The Dagmistress

Ooh! Just saw the Fever Pitch picture and ooh baby, ooh baby! You are right Donna, shorts would have been very nice, but this was not at all unpleasing...;-)

Thanks for the "daggy" explanation. It helps, but it seems like you guys have come up with your own definition. Sorry I missed out on the original usage.

Susan: It helps, but it seems like you guys have come up with your own definition. It hasm shall we say, evolved over time...;-)

Anne3- WELL! Your photo renaissance of CF (sites above) could not have arrived at a more perfect time (Valentine's Day being close and all...). I searched the medicine cabinet for those gauze medical rolls to stop the rabid drooling but to no avail- wait, here 's an empty coffee cup ;-) Seriously, a couple of pix are gorgeous...time for a new computer wallpaper, or just sleep with one eye open watching my monitor permanently on the site and my internet provider bill going geometrically higher... ( What's hat, dear? Yes, Mommy's just looking at some world-class English football player again. Yes, he does look just the teensiest bit like Mr. Darcy. OK, yes, I'll read you a bedtime story; where were we, Pride and Prejudice, the proposal chapter? Allright , I'll be right there!)

LOL, Cecily!

Anne 3, thanks for these sites : IBM indeed (Sigh...) Cecily,

(I also posted this notice at Ramble.) To all fans of CF movies: I recently loaned my copy of "Dutch Girls" to Mari. If you want to see it let me know (email - H: kelder@miworld.net W: k_elder@fre.fsu.umd.edu), and I will ask Mari to send it to you when she has finished watching it. As l ong as I get it back eventually, I am most happy to share.

Cecily....Right On!!!! (We're you peeking in my window?)

Oh Kathleen, please sign me up as soon as you can. Let me know if you want me to email you my vital statitics or just want me to post it here.

Continuing in my role as Firthwatcher to the Spring (how did this happen? surely there are Brit lurkers out there who can do a much more efficientl job)--a friend just sent me a copy of the Jan. 11 interview in the Sunday Telegraph, the one in which he s upposedly announced his engagement to Livia Giuggioli. Well, I've been through it twice, and this is all I can find on the subject:On my way out, I decide to risk spoiling the atmosphere by asking the question everyone has warned me I must no : is his current relationship the big one? Livia has taken to appearing in public sporting a large diamond ring and been spotted moving a vacuum-cleaner into his Hackney flat. Well, Colin, is this it? Firth flashes me a look that would do credit to Mr Darcy on finding himself at an unfashionable provincial ball confronted by Mrs Bennet at her most tactless. Then suddenly he defrosts. 'Yes,' he says.Well, call me an ostrich if you like, but personally I think this amounts to something le s than an announcement of impending nuptials. I am cancelling my inquiry into china patterns. (And will be sleeping much better I'm sure! :-) The article is illustrated with 3 photos by Peter Lindbergh, 2 of which appeared in Harper's Bazaar last spring. The third--Colin lying on his stomach on the beach (fully clothed however) is new. Maybe our friend who put up the other photos at the geoci ties site will be able to get hold of this one too. For another tantalizing tidbit from the interview, see "Ayelet's Nonsense."

] is his current relationship the big one? Livia has taken to appearing in public sporting a large diamond ring and been spotted moving a vacuum-cleaner into his Hackney flat. Well, Colin, is this it? Firth flashes me a look that would do credit to Mr Darcy on finding himself at an unfashionable provincial ball confronted by Mrs Bennet at her most tactless. Then suddenly he defrosts. 'Yes,' he says. either that or he's got an expensive housekeeper finally to tidy up... Well, call me an ostrich if you like, but personally I think this amounts to something les than an announcement of impending nuptials. or at least it makes one wonder how cranky CF can be when his plans (for privacy or anything) go awry...sounds temperamental to me, if talented ;-)

I think you're right, France. He still refers to the last one as the "love of his life," and look what happened to her! ;(

Mr. Firth should be admired from afar. Apparently, he bites if you get too close.

That's okay. He can come nibble on me any time he likes.

But, first you will need to purchase a vacuum cleaner! One can only marvel at these modern-day appliances.

Isn't that funny? Out of all the things she could be seen carting into his place, it had to be a vacuum. A domestic appliance? What kind of omen is this?!

It is rumored that his flat had not seen a vacuum since he first took up residence there several years ago. Anyone willing to clean a bachelor pad certainly deserves the bachelor as part of the prize!

''It is rumored that his flat had not seen a vacuum since he first took up residence there several years ago.'' But Elaine, what about this quote from the Tatler interview..... ''Colin torches a Marlboro Light and his froideur ebbs away as he pokes fun at the yellow press - and himself - rather engagingly , in that low, rasping voice. 'I've had people saying, 'Oh come on , you love it', but, what's fun about somebody taking pict ures through your window? It gives me the jitters. There was a picture of me buying a vaccuum cleaner, not something I am particularly ashamed of, but it does make you think twice about going out to buy bog-roll and bin-bags if you think you might end up on page two of the Sunday Mirror. So you think, I won't pick my nose in front of the living room window, or wear that horrible sweatshirt to Marks and Spencer.' He laughs, devastatingly. Odd. My legs appear to be tur ning to jelly.'' Hmmmmm... what other use could they have for two vacuums? And what, pray tell, are bin-bags and bog-roll?

Mari: And what, pray tell, are bin-bags and bog-roll? Bin-bags are trash bags--trash cans are called dust bins in England! Bog-rolls I'm not sure, I think they're probably toilet paper. What's wrong, however, with buying either? I think it's rather endearing that a bachelor would do his own everyday shopp ing and they are necessities! Anne3: He can come nibble on me any time he likes! LOL - Ditto!!

Anne3, I also was sent the Sunday Telegraph article by a dear friend who understands my interest in the subject. She has also sent me articles on Regency gardening inspired by Austen-mania, etc. How nice to have friends. I had no idea when I read it that it was supposed to be a substantive announcement. Anyway, if he said, no, she's not the one, that would be the end of that, and who would vacuum?

The nibbling thing: Yes, Anne3, even biting would probably be permitted! His comment about the press makes me wonder if that's what was the bee in his bonnet over being asked about Livia. He probably would like to keep some things about his private life private, but I'd say he's out of luck. As for me, I'll take all the pictures I can get. And Inko, thanks for the definitions of bin-bags and bog-rolls. Inquiring minds wanted to know.

Anne3 or Jane: I'd love to see the whole Telegraph article! It's not on the FOF site--can either of you put it in here?? It's not on the electronic Telegraph, because I searched that with no luck!! I don't think they put their magazine articles on the net.

Inko, I'd be happy to put in the interview, but I have to defer to our gracious hosts here at the Spring on this one--there may be copyright issues involved. But if you e-mail me with your snail mail address, I'll send you a copy.

defer to our ... hosts here Anne, I guess I would rather leave the article business to the FoF page. They usually put things up in fairly short order. You might want to contact Carol and see if she has the copy yet.

What other use could they have for two vacuums?....The first vacuum was immediately lost under dissolving pizza boxes and undetected bog rolls. Vacuums seem to play a key roll in Mr. Firth's publicity.

This is stupid but I'm writing it anyway: this week has been so bad I have literally gotten the start of an ulcer; I came here to "lighten up" my mood and found that we'll be drooling , etc., outside the house, so to speak (kind of like a smoker going ou tside) from now on. This depressed me (anything would at this point!) for some weird reason, though Amy's need to PGify her BB again is doubtless necessary, given some of our recent remarks (including yours truly) of an astonishingly "dagger" nature. B t then, I'm never at ease around "remodeling" environments. (Maybe a week's hiatus from Spring will calm the gastric flow and I can return in jollier, more creative frame of mind.) Anyhow, good luck, ye carpenters, painters, and writers of Regency!

I share some of your concern France, but agree with Amy that this needed. And I kinda like change...everytime I log on there's something new to pique my interest. Like to day, for instance, I really appreciate this white background to write in, and Amy, is this the blue blankie fluff from the WNO? I like it, much lighter and pleasing to the eye. Can't wait to see what things will look like tomorrow! Change is Good!

Gosh...did that sound too Pollyannish? :-)

A little Pollyannish, but not too. Thanks. No, the blankie fuzz is a little more cyan and blurred. This is spilled dill weed.

Very refreshing, love the background !

Amy: This is spilled dill weed. Gosh, my countertop looks nothing like this when I spill dill weed...;-)

Spilled dill weed. Right. And that really was you growling on Joan's GRRRR graphic...;)

This is a representation of spilled dill weed. It really is me growling.

marker.