I have been toying with two ideas for my next blog post.  One was to talk a little about the title of my blog, the other was to talk about Audrey Hepburn, two rather different topics but due to a little serendipity I was able to amalgamate the two.

The other day my daughter Charlotte was telling me of her thoughts on taking some acting classes.  She is already working as a dancer and studied performing arts at university so this didn’t surprise me.  She had been watching the 1953 Audrey Hepburn film  ‘Roman Holiday’ and  having got a little carried away with the romance of it all her next comment to me was “Mum i actually think I’m Audrey!”… I had to chuckle, but if that feeling spurs her on to the next point in her career then why not dream a little.

A few days later she was home for a well-earned bit of mum and daughter time and as my knowledge on Audrey Hepburn movies started and stopped with ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’,  it seemed a good opportunity for some enlightenment on the subject and instead of  ‘Educating Rita’  it was time to  ‘educate Mum’ and what a fab time we had.

Two days , two girls and a furry companion, cuddled up on the sofa, delighting in the elegance, poise yet boyish femininity of an actress who went on to become a style icon.  As we ate and drank our way through  ‘Roman Holiday’  ‘My fair Lady’   ‘How to make a million’  and finally  (and by this time all three of us tucked in bed)  ‘Sabrina’  I was thankful for things we can learn from our children.  I absolutely loved watching those films and as she made about 28 films in all I am looking forward to moseying through the rest and am thankful to Charlotte for inspiring me to find out more about this amazing woman.

During the film of the same name the character ‘Sabrina’ is sent on a cookery course in Paris by her father and although not keen on going she later writes this letter to him.

‘Dear Father… it is late at night, and someone across the way is playing “La Vie En Rose”. It is the French way of saying, “I am looking at the world through rose-coloured glasses,”  and it says everything I feel. I have learned so many things, Father. Not just how to make vichyssoise or calf’s head with sauce vinaigrette, but a much more important recipe. I have learned how to live… how to be in the world and of the world… and not just to stand aside and watch. And I will never, never again run away from life… or from love, either.’

That was my serendipitous moment… ‘La vie en rose’  literally translates to  ‘life in pink’  or better translates to ‘Life through rosy (pink) glasses’.  The idea being that everything seems rosy and cheerful or to see the pleasant things in a situation and not the unpleasant.  In the film Sabrina had fallen in love with Paris and life always has a rosy tinge when love is in the air.   A few years ago I was working in a pharmacy with some lovely people who during conversations would often say to me  “take your rose-tinted glasses off Ali”.  We would laugh, but I continued  to wear them.  Trying to see the best in the bad, whether people or situations may have a touch of naivety to it but it works for me and as i said in an earlier post, life is kinder that way and thus my blog title ‘Through Rose tinted Glasses’  was born.

Before Charlotte left for London we watched an interview with Audrey Hepburn.  It was really interesting having watched the films to listen to the real Audrey.. the humble, kind, charming woman who believed in putting others before herself.  Feeling that she wasnt built to cope with both, she gave up her role as an actress to focus on bringing up her children then later became a special ambassador for UNICEF helping children in Latin America and Africa.

I’m sure many of you reading this are very familiar with Audrey Hepburns career as a film star,  but if not and you find yourself with some time to fill then why not cuddle up with a mug of hot chocolate or a glass of wine, a furry friend or even on your own, and discover the delights of these wonderful films.  As for you Charlotte,  my advice is……….Keep being Audrey!

I leave you with one of my favourite Audrey Hepburn quotes:

AS YOU GET OLDER, REMEMBER YOU HAVE ANOTHER HAND: THE FIRST IS TO HELP YOURSELF, THE SECOND IS TO HELP OTHERS.”

Love Alison x