Doll-A-Day 153: Exactly What constitutes a Doll? Happy Birthday Paul McCartney and How to Meet a Beatle

  Just a quick mention: the photos contained in this post are all my photography, except for the two I have indicated. Please don't use any of them without giving due credit. 
  Ok, today's doll isn't so much a doll as a ...figurine? Statuette? Whatever you want to call it, it's today's feature, to celebrate Paul McCartney's 72nd birthday today.

As readers of this blog will know, I am a Beatles person. Lori and another friend, Nancy, bought this for me for my birthday yeeeeears ago. All four Beatles were available, but they were a bit expensive. I think they were around $50 each, which was way more than my friends and I spent on each other for birthdays.

 So, after much deliberation, and quizzing me on whether or not I would mind if I only got one thing from the two of them if it were something really special, they bought me this Paul.

He's made of plaster or something, very heavy. He's gotten a few dings over the years.

The company that made 'Paul' was called Esco. They made  these statuettes of a lot of celebrities, including W.C. Fields, The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges, and Laurel and Hardy.

Paul is about 17" tall. My kids think he looks more like Barnabas from Dark Shadows.

Beatlebas Collins?

  Most people who meet us think I got my husband Ken while I was in England, but those trips were before I met him. On my second trip I was lucky enough to be able to spend several months in England, most of it in London. Other than always coming home at the end of the day and blowing black soot out of my nose, I love London. There's always something to do or see. I spent a lot of time in the National Gallery and going to the theatre. I used to sit in a little park called Soho Square to eat my lunch or write letters. This park sits surrounded by buildings, and  it was not a coincidence that one of them is MPL, Paul McCartney's office. Yes, I was on stake out. I figured it was a pretty little park, not too far from the train station where I came into London proper every day, and if I was lucky I could snag an autograph. Paul did used to come into his office fairly often back then, and had just released the Press to Play album, so my chances were pretty good.

I also met a lot of like minded people there, some of which I couldn't stand, and some I became friendly with. One of the friends I made there I still exchange emails with.
 The first time my stake out produced the goods, Paul was in and out with Linda.

Me, (I'm the reflection on the left,taking the picture.), Linda, and Paul with his back to the door. It's hard to photograph through that super shiny bullet proof glass.

  He came in, and then left for lunch. Later they came back. Linda posed for some pictures with him, and then left him to the fans and went inside. She had a camera with her, as any true photographer would never leave it behind.

   I remember when they came back from lunch he had booze breath, but when he came back out of the office he was chewing gum and his breath was 'minty fresh'.  
For being someone on stake out, I was ill prepared, and had to bum a promo postcard from the office to have something to get signed. Unfortunately, Paul had recently had photographs taken for the cover and promoting the new album by George Hurrell,photographer of classic Hollywood stars of the 30's and 40's...

Jean Harlow by George Hurrell

...and in these he was dressed all in black. Black pen does not show up well on black.

And these were the days before Sharpies were the thing, so it was just a ball point pen! Even worse.
  The second time he popped into the office while I was on stake out was 10 days later. It was a quick in and out and nobody got an autograph. I only snagged one photo.

  I had to wait nearly a month for my next chance. But, I was more prepared than the first time, since I had taken to carrying a 10" EP around with me everywhere. Paul was still a little touchy about Beatles stuff then, so I had his latest record instead of a Beatles item. That would have been cool, but one didn't want to pee him off, especially since my first experience hadn't been the most well received: A nice German tourist I had become friendly with had asked me to take her photo with Paul when he came out of the office. I agreed. She offered to take my picture with Paul too. I kept saying no, because it was embarrassing. Finally, figuring it was one of those once in a lifetime opportunities, I said, "Well, I'll just stand next to him and you get a photo." So we waited. I figured she would ask him like most people did, or at least stand next to him and wait until he was ready and they would smile together at the camera. Well, instead, she ran up and hung on his shoulder while he was dealing with someone else---and just hung there! He looked none too pleased. Worse yet,when I had taken her photo she grabbed my arm,threw me at him and said "Now you!" I was stunned and he was NOT HAPPY, both of which show in the photos.

"Duhhhh..." I don't look nearly as shocked as I felt!

  So this third time I had another chance at a decent autograph.I took lots of photos, some of which turned out very nicely.

Just back from making a video in Arizona, with a new haircut and a tan.

Paul seems friendly enough in the photos one of the other fans took of him signing my record.

This picture is by Alfredo de La Torre. Alfredo took some really nice photos and he made everybody who was there that day copies. He had come all the way from Mexico and hoped to get a chance to meet Paul.That's my fat orange head.I totally do not remember Paul looking at me.I think he may have spoken...

Paul was very nice and signed my record. I had a black pen, since I only ever write with black ink, but as sometimes happens, he hung onto the pen a previous person had handed him. Who goes around with a GREEN pen?! It was another ballpoint and didn't write well on the slick record cover.What?! Am I cursed?

  Somebody even did a little home video. He made everybody who was there a copy. Unfortunately, they're  on British PAL video, so I haven't seen it in almost 30 years. I hope it still plays. (Update:It does, and I took it with me to England when we went in 2015 and left it with my sister in law. She had it made into a DVD for me and sent it over. Emma brought my video back when she went over last fall,so I still have that,just in case.)
  He must have forgotten I was the one thrown at him a few weeks earlier, or maybe he was cutting me some slack. So I could have walked away clean, but NO! I had to put my foot in my mouth. Can't just leave well enough alone. He was in the office quite a while, so when he came out again a lot of the people who had been there earlier had left. Since there were so few of us, (5 or 6 people), Paul stood around talking to us for a while, and showed us the new issue of his fan club magazine. (Actually, it was like a newspaper.)

Paul holding the fan club magazine.

 He was flipping through it, critiquing photos of himself.(Some of the girls, in their late teens or early 20's seemed to forget WHO was showing them these pictures, and would occasionally let out squeals of...delight.Paul found it amusing. I found it even more so.) He pointed out a picture he said his son James liked, but as for himself, he said, "Oh I 'ate that photo." Ok. Now if you were someone with Paul McCartney's power, why would you let your own fan club magazine use a picture you hated that much? Surely he could have said, "Throw that one away!" So, the first thing that popped out of my mouth was,"Why did you let them use it then?" OW! He gave me the dirtiest look. Oh crap! That's not how I meant it! Really! I am definitely not smooth.
  After that the only time Paul was 'spottable' was on his and Linda's way in to the Royal Variety Show, where he was performing. That was a quick in, so all I got was a photo of the back of his head. I was too cheap to buy tickets to the show, which were quite expensive. I wish I had though.How many times do you get to go to the Royal Variety Show? (Plus then the only way you can see the show is to beg the guys in the BBC's remote van to let you lay up their steps so you can watch on their live monitor, because you have to go home before it airs!Uhh...Just saying...) The only royals who actually attended were the Duchess of York, (Fergie. No! Not that Fergie!), and the Queen Mother. I got a veeeeery long distance picture of them in their limo. For security reasons their car parked waaay down the street, and they walked to the entrance. (Sounds more dangerous than pulling up to the door, but what do I know?This is why I'm not a royal security person. Well, amongst other reasons.) The entrance was surrounded by real photographers, (Hey, I later got a photography job on a local paper...), some of whom had LADDERS. At 5 feet tall I had no view at all. I think I saw some feet going up the steps.
   So anyway. Final memories? The stone in his wedding ring looked moldy. It was a weird pale greenish stone. He has lots of dark hair on his hands, (Remember,I'm short, so that's what was in my face as he signed my stuff.), and he smells like soap, only better. Also, that false tooth was a different colour from the others. "What false tooth?!" The one he got to replace this one:

Paul in 1966, after wiping out on a motor bike. That big scar on his lip only added to the rumours that the real Paul had died and been replaced by a double. Give me a break.

  So those are my Paul stories.Happy birthday Paul. Even if you did give me that dirty look. (Come home Paul! All is forgiven!)
Tomorrow will be a real doll. I promise!

World Vegetarian Day

  Today is World Vegetarian Day. Since I've been  a vegetarian for the past 25 years I thought I would make mention of it. I won't go over all the moral reasons for becoming a vegetarian. I could show you all the cruelty photos and talk about that aspect, but it's like religion: If you aren't feeling it, no one is going to make you believe. It has to come from your own heart. I will only make a brief mention of the fact that with the world running out of space,it's 'food for thought' that according to the United Nations raising animals for food uses 30% of the Earth's land mass.It takes 13 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat. Add to that the extra energy wasted transporting food to the animals and then transporting the animals to slaughter, and then the meat to processing plants and then on to stores. Cutting out the middle man and just processing the grains and vegetables in the first place makes more and more sense. There is also the health aspect. I think it's worth noting that I am a fat lady,(My metabolism was ruined years ago by pills I was given to level my progesterone.) and yet, pretty darn healthy. My Dad and my sister both had high cholesterol and high blood pressure by the time they were my age. All my levels are good. I had very slightly fatty liver last year from being overweight.But I lost 40 pounds so I am no longer ready to be pate'. 
  Ken agrees with vegetarianism morally, but he is, as he puts it, "a slave to his taste buds",and his favourite thing is Prime Rib. But when we talked about having kids he agreed that they would be raised as vegetarians, but would be given the choice when they were old enough to understand what eating 'meat' really means.I am proud to say that they are now 22, 18, and almost 14, and none of them have chosen to 'go over to the other side' yet! My Dad wasn't happy with the decision when Emma started to eat solid food. I also had to argue with our pediatrician when I had Emma. He told me he did not want her to be a vegetarian 'at this time'. I bluntly told him that whether he liked it or not, that's what was going to happen, so he might as well deal with it. He listed his concerns for the nutrition she would be missing, and when I had a substitute for everything, he finally said, "Well, you seem to know what you're doing." I was very careful with the kids' nutrition. I had the book 'Vegetarian Baby', and I made sure their diet was full of vegetables (My kids will mostly only eat them raw.), and whole grains, and plenty of protein, in the form of lentils and beans,tofu, and soy based artificial 'meats'. Happily, my kids have almost never been sick. They almost never get colds or flu. Not one of them has ever had an ear infection. (Breastfeeding is supposed to be a big help with that, so that may have been what protected them there.)I think Fuzz has thrown up 3 times in his whole life.They have been absent from school less days than most of the kids they go to school with.
  I do still eat dairy and eggs. I have a particular weakness for chocolate milk!But I haven't knowingly had meat or anything made with meat fat or meat ingredients for 25 years. You'd be amazed at the things you never think about containing animal products until you have to check all your food! Gelatin, (Indian and Asian groceries carry vegetarian safe versions. Beware though, they take a little longer to thicken, and they don't get quite as firm as the regular version.)and marshmallows are something you don't realize how much you'll  miss until you haven't had them for a while! Gelatin (in gelatin and marshmallows),is made from such things as horse hooves. Sound yummy?And watch that red colouring. You might be eating crushed beetles! (Carmine or cochineal colouring). We used to get some great marshmallows that were supposedly vegan, but, and the irony of this was not lost on me, THE FACTORY BURNED DOWN. Years later we found out they were cheating and using fish gelatin. (Ack!) The last couple of years we have found various vegan marshmallows that have had varying degrees of quality. The Sweet and Sara ones are great, but very expensive. Dandies were an alternative, but they weren't very 'puffy'. At first we thought it was because Emma carried them all through San Francisco under her arm! But we bought them again and they were the same way. They dried out and shrunk very quickly, even unopened. But they have obviously revised the recipe or something and now they are GREAT! Emma called me this summer. very excited, to tell me that Whole Foods now carries them and they were puffy and wonderful. She was absolutely right and I have been stuffing my face with them this summer.
   I eat a lot of  'fake meats'. I found I didn't like the gluten based artificial meats.Here is a list of my favourites.
For 'Chicken':
Morningstar Farms nuggets and patties
Verisoy drumsticks
Quorn Tenders (chunks) and cutlets (The Gruyere cutlets are good too!)
Loma Linda Frichik (Great for 'fried chicken!)
Loma Linda Fried Chikn and Gravy (I use it in my holiday loaf and it makes great 'chicken' salad.)
Loma Linda Chik Stiks (They taste a lot like croquettes.)
For 'Beef':
Morningstar Farms Grillers Original (for 'Hamburgers', or tacos)
Morninstar Farms crumbles (for tacos or stroganoff)
Loma Linda Linkettes 'hot dogs'
Quorn crumbles (VERY close to hamburger in taste and texture.)
Morningstar Farms Corn Dogs and Mini Corn Dogs (Fuzz's favourite)
For Pork:
Wham frozen 'ham' substitute (LOVE it! Creamed chipped Wham or Wham and cheese sandwiches!
Morningstar Farms breakfast patties (They also do link 'sausage' and maple and hot spicy patties.)
Morningstar Farms 'bacon'
Ken always loved the Loma Linda 'scallops'.
    The Morningstar Farms, Verisoy, and these particular Loma Linda products are soy based. The Quorn is what's called Micoprotein, and, don't gag, but it's a fungus. Remember, mushrooms are a fungus. Think of it that way. I can eat a whole cup of Quorn (Well, I can't, because it's too much!) and it's only 80 calories. The calories and fat content of soy 'meats' are way below the real thing. There is a slight amount of cholesterol because alot of them contain egg whites for binding.Also, there tends to be a lot of sodium, so don't eat too much of them in close succession.The products I mentioned are, to me, the closest in flavour to real meat. As you can see from my choices, I lean toward the chicken side of things. I think I always preferred chicken, turkey, and fish to beef anyway.I'm still waiting for someone to make fake 'tuna fish' that tastes good and doesn't smell like cat food! Morningstar Farms makes a lot of different burgers, but Grillers Original are the best 'burgers' they make, in my opinion. The burger crumbles are pretty much just as good though. I use either to make tacos. Other than not being as greasy, it's very like the real thing.
  Verisoy 'chicken' is hard to find and only available in Asian groceries, but the 'drumsticks' are very like the real thing, (Only with a stick instead of a bone!), even down to the somewhat sticky texture of the 'skin' when it's fried. Emma and Fuzz love them. Ivy doesn't like much food at all, so don't go by her! She only eats Morningstar Farms 'chicken' nuggets. My only problem with the nuggets and patties is that they are all breaded. Sometimes you need unbreaded 'chicken' to cook with. That's why I was so excited by Quorn. The cutlets and tenders are unbreaded and can be thrown into recipes where you would use regular chicken. I throw them in Indian food,noodle things,all sorts of things.They're also good in a sandwich with mayonaise! A tip though, Quorn can be a bit dry, so always have a drink handy.
  There are other non specific things that are also great, but not copying any particular type of meat, like the Morningstar Farms Pizza burgers.Emma highly recommends Gardein products.
  Morningstar Farms and Quorn are available frozen in most grocery stores, at least around here.I can't get Linkettes 'hot dogs' around here any more. Emma shipped them to us when she was going to film school in San Francisco, but now that she's back here we will have to order them by the case. They are totally worth the trouble though. They are the closest to real hot dogs that I have found.
  We used to be lucky enough to live very near the Worthington Foods factory, which makes Loma Linda and Morningstar Farms foods. We shopped at the factory outlet store until they were bought out by Kellogg's and the factory was moved to Michigan.Famously vegetarian Paul and Linda McCartney had food shipped to them in large quantity from the factory outlet too.
   Our Trick or Treat night tradition is Crescent Dogs,(Linkettes, with or without cheese, in crescent rolls.), because they were something quick and filling when I was busy finishing last minute costume stuff before we ran out for Trick or Treat. On Christmas mornings Ken's mother always made them eat before opening presents, so she made them Sausage Rolls. These are sort of the English version of crescent dogs. So on Christmas mornings Ken would never let the kids come down until he made the 'fake sausage rolls', out of Loma Linda Big Franks.On Thanksgiving and Christmas I have always made 'Meatless Roast'. The recipe comes from a cook book by Linda McCartney, but was originally sent to me by a vegetarian friend, with her adjustments. I made adjustments of my own, and even my Dad had to have some every year!There also nut loaves,and all sorts of things to replace that turkey or ham at holidays.Just replacing one meal a week with a vegetarian meal will save you lots of calories and fats in the long run, not to mention the animal lives it will save
.  Alot of people feel they couldn't survive without their meat because they love the taste. It takes a strong will to give anything up. I loved turkey. I ate tuna fish on a regular basis. French onion soup(made with beef broth)...mmmm. When I went vegetarian I thought I might cheat and have some fish if I ever went to England again, because the fish was so good. After I had been a vegetarian for a while the thought disgusted me. I went through stages where the smell of cooking meat made me sick, then I could ignore it. Now I just think it stinks. I am never tempted to eat meat. The thought that I would be eating the body or organ of an animal just seems barbaric to me now,and I was raised on a farm where I watched my mom wring the necks of the chickens we had for dinner. (Although somehow I'm not sure I connected the chickens she killed with the food on my plate.Seems amazing to me now, but I don't think I did.We had certain chickens that were our  pets, so I'm not sure how that works. When I was a little older my dad shot a pheasant and mom plucked and cooked it. I refused to eat it, hating that the beautiful animal I had just seen walking around  in the field was now dead, and it was our fault.Oddly enough,I was allowed to refuse. Normally my mom came to the table with a paddle or a switch to 'encourage' me because I wasn't much of an eater.)
  You probably eat vegetarian sometimes and don't even realize it. That ravioli, or fettuccini you had,that omelet ,macaroni and cheese, bean burrito. They're all vegetarian,or can be.The next time you go to a Chinese restaurant, try ordering bean curd (tofu) homestyle or braised bean curd. It's delicious!