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Friday, December 9, 2011
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The things they say Quotes of the week
“I’m 6ft 7in, weird looking, from the West Country, I’m gangly and awkward . . . either I go into comedy or I become a psychopath. So I think I’ve channelled it wisely” – Writer and comedian Stephen Merchant, who brings his Hello Ladies . . . tour to Cambridge on Monday. “It was so awful and sentimental and gooey, I had to work terribly hard to try to infuse some minuscule bit of humour into it” – Actor Christopher Plummer, whho pllayyed Caaptain Voon Trrapp inn The Sound Of Music, which he renamed The Sound of Mucus. “I hoard them all over the house, in cupboards in the kitchen, in the bathroom – every room. There is a big chance when you open the fridge in my house there will be a pair of shoes at the bottom” – Singer Cheryl Cole, whho cllaims too haave abbout 2,,000 pairs. “The crisis should not be overemphasised. People have always responded to difficulty by dressing up in jewels” – Fashion guuru Kaarl Laagerfeld onn whhat wealthy women should wear during an economic crisis. “London has never ceased to amaze me. But Runcorn does better fish and chips” – Singer Nicola Roberts, of Girls Aloud fame, on her home town.
%STAR QUOTE% “Tell them we are busy” – Actor Kevin Spacey, playing Richard III, responds to a mobile phone ringing out from the audience during a performance in Sydney. “No one said that Auschwitz should have been kept open because it created jobs” – Tory MP Zac Goldsmith, rejecting arguments that newspapers should be free to print stories of the private lives of celebrities just to increase circulation. “I don’t find acting difficult. I find it challenging, and sometimes I am very bad at it. But I don’t find it hard” – George Clooney urging fellow actors to stop moaning about how hard their job is. “I can pick good food, but I can’t pick a good man” – Veteran actress Debbie Reynolds, who has had three unsuccessful marriages.
“I witnessed the extreme “I don’t particularly want to indifference of cyclists who just go to the Moon. There’s nothing there except bloody pushed their way ash” – Broadcaster Sir David “Time pitilessly past, some Attenborough has his limits. makes fools of peering at the man who was most of us” – losing a lot of blood from a deep Sttephen Baayley, foormer diirector cut above his nose. Even when off thhe Deesign Muuseum inn Loondon. the paramedics were there they “A scented candle from someone tried to push their way past” – you are close to is always Eunice Chiavetta, 72, of East offensively unimaginative” – Chesterton, who was appalled by Jemima Khan about the worst the attitude of some passers-by Christmas gifts. who failed to stop to help an injured man. “We have seen a significant drop in the number of re-offenders because of the scheme and feedback from victims has been very positive” – Insp Dominic Human on the ‘payback system’ to get offenders to apologise to their victims in certain cases instead of facing court. He added: “If these youngsters had been prosecuted we would have demonised them for life.”
“A lot of people in showbusiness come from posh backgrounds but they hide their roots – except for Joanna Lumley, who couldn’t get away with it even if she stood in an Asda queue in a shell suit” – Comedienne Miranda Hart.
“Nothing in life has given me as much satisfaction as bringing them up. It is thanks to them that I never gave up on civilisation altogether” – Actor Sean Penn on his children. “There’s a lot to be said for taking time out for a tickle” – Acctress Annna Frriel ennjoys faamily fun.
Compiled by Jennifer Shelton
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I fought the scales ME to get back rea TABLES TURNED: Karlena has lost nearly 6 stone, allowing her to return to a normal lifestyle. “It was never about bad habits, it was about eating the right portion sizes for an inactive person,” she says Picture: Keith Jones 786938
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OSING weight is a struggle at the best of times but imagine trying to steel yourself to do it when you are too exhausted to move, in constant pain and find it difficult to stay awake, let alone go for a run. For 40-year-old Karlena Dell, a teaching assistant at Bottisham Village College, this was the incredible challenge she faced. The mum-of-one from Lode suffers with ME, a debilitating illness that she developed in 2003 after a severe and combined attack of shingles, glandular fever and gallstones. “The first signs were extreme tiredness, to the point where I could not string a sentence together or remember names of objects,” Karlena recalls. “I went from writing scientific papers to not being able to have the cognitive function to read a children’s book.” When physical exhaustion and pain got too much, and just a few minutes of standing was agonising, Karlena relied on a wheelchair. “The illness coloured all aspects of my life,” she explains. “I went from being an independent professional woman to someone that had to be looked after like a child. I could not read any more, couldn’t stand loud noises or bright lights or any external stimulation. “I was used to being very much in control of my life and it now felt I had no control over even the simplest of things happening to me. If I got over-tired it would trigger migraines. Standing up would be excruciating; the pain felt like a burning sensation running up and down my legs. My skin felt like it had broken glass under it, and it hurt to wear clothes.” Her weight crept up because she was unable to do everyday things like nipping to the gym or going swimming, and her family life was affected too: “I loved being able to do things with my son, but I had to either just watch him do it, or miss it as I
Despite suffering with se confined to a wheelchair shed an astonishing 5st 1 catwalk to prove it. ELLA about taking back contro her son proud.
was fast asleep.” Karlena had a “lightbulb moment” when ordering a new wheelchair. “I had to order it in extra wide,” she sighs. “I just thought: ‘I’ve got to do something about this.’” At her heaviest, she weighed 17st 10lb (“Stepping on those scales for the first time and seeing that figure made me cry inside, my ME had destroyed al my previous efforts,”) and because her illness stopped her from exercising, the only dieting group that would consider taking her on was WeightWatchers. Having tried the points programme before and lost 3 stone, she restarted it in February 2009 and the scales soon started sliding in her favour. “It’s so easy to follow,” Karlena enthuses. “I’ve lost 5 stone 10lb with no exercise. At times it has been really tough but the weight loss was slow and consistent. I lost about ½lb every week.” No sugar-fuelled relapses? “It was never about bad habits, it was about eating the right portion sizes for an inactive person. That would have meant admitting I was ill and that was too difficult at the time. So maybe WeightWatchers has also allowed me to admit I was ill and it was OK.