Paul's Corner

Same here, Paul, I'll be there in spirit, too, but like last time, I want my front row seat smack in the middle, best seat in the house!!! no lurking in the back for me :-) Care to join all the attenders-in-spirit up front, Paul?

Again, have a blast, Follians, enjoy and bring down the house with laughter and cheering!!!

Excellent idea Evelyn! I bags the seat next to you and will bring some Jaffa's!

Grandma Mil, best wishes to everyone involved with The Follies! Break a leg! :o)

Best wishes for a wonderful opening night. Knock 'em dead, Mil!

Yeah! :D Thanks for the company! Jaffa's? in the mood for Haribo Gummy bears? I could bring those.

Last time we had pink roses for Millie that I got to present to her on stage. Jumping on the stage, ah what fun! Hmm, how would we do that this time as attenders in spirit? Would definitely make for a lovely visual to have roses float up from the audience and fall into Millie's arms. Have to think about that one!

Best of luck Millie.

Hearing you talk about the preparations has made me wish I lived closer than Oklahoma. It would be a blast to drive in for the day and take in the show!!! Alas, 1000 miles or more is beyond my ability at this time. :-(

Please let us know how it all goes!

Paul,

Amanda asked about twisting Food Trail for the northern hemisphere, which gave me courage to post what I've been pondering for some time.

Here in the US we have a group of television stations nationwide called PBS (Public Broadcasting Systems -- I think). Each station seems to purchase its own programming and/or set up its own viewing schedule, but they all work together in many things. Anyway, they have such a diverse programming line-up that Food Trail would fit right in! Perhaps you -- or the appropriate person -- might look into it? I'm not in TV and don't know how these things work, but I do know that Americans have a great fascination with all things Australian and your show sounds particularly appealing. Might something work out?

HELLO PC FRIENDS,

MY DEAR MILLIE-I know, for a fact, the Follies will be perfect!!

HUGS,
ABETH

Paul,

I just got off the phone with the programming director of my local PBS station. He explained how a show available in the US would go about getting on Public Television. The catch is that it must be a non-commercial program. If you are interested, let me know. You can leave a note on Paul's Corner or write my email (Cat has it for this blog, right?). I'll tell you everything he said.

You might be interested in checking out "Mexico, One Plate at a Time" with Rick Bayless (www.fronterakitchens.com) which is available in the US on digital TV.

All this to obviously say we would LOVE to see Food Trails in the US. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!!

"Follyana"

Wow--with all this enthusiasm, Grandma Mil should have a fabulous show. Roses on fly-away--too cool.

Marian, that's a great suggestion about PBS. Very worth trying. Americans certainly do have a fascination with things Aussie and I'm sure they will welcome Paul and get better acquainted with him.

And back to Grandma Mil, all the best for a fantastic show!

Melody

Marian, Thanks for the enthusiasm and the info. I would love to get the Food Trail on to the TV in other parts of the world - there is a huge demand for these sorts of shows around the world. The main problem at the moment is that we have not really shot enough shows to take it out to the market to sell. At present we have only shot 10 episodes and would be looking to shoot another ten to fourteen so as we have a more meaningful series to offer networks and a more meaningful opportunitty to make some money from it.

Sadly we have hit a brick wall in Australia with the network not having the space in their roster to shwo any new episodes and therefore unwilling to put any money into making more. We are working on a couple of options but we do face the possibility of shooting no more.

Crazy isnt it! A high rating show, a popular show and we cant make anymore!!!

Hopefully I will be able to give you news that we are going ahead with more but for the moment it is dead in the water!

Cant wait to hear from Millie.

Evelyn Haribo Gummy Bears will be great!

Paul--that is just too crazy. Must give this to the universe and think positively for something to break loose that wall.

I guess Australian networks are no different than American. Can never fathom why a show gets cancelled when it has such promise or gets moved in the lineup for a network to try something less interesting only to have the original show get beat out by another network's line up and then die off. This is why I watch less TV every year or end up on cable with reruns of my more favorite shows (or digging into my personal video collection.

Another thing I dislike is our PBS system. When it's time for fund raising, all these great shows come on and then are shelved until the next fund raiser.

However, I still agree with Marian that your show should prove worthy of America's PBS, which does do justice to diverse food shows, and hopefully things can move forward to get you there.

Melody

Break a leg Millie! I'm sure it will be just as fabulous as you are.

much love,

Julie

Grandma Mil and Ellie

HAVE A BLAST!!

The world some times makes no sense to me (the successful show with no backing for instance). But I just have to say I love this site and all those who particapate (sp) as well as the yummy factor and our inspiration. xxxoo Lots of love to all (I'm posting while a bit intoxicated but my heart is in the right place). ;)
Tea

Hey Miland Ellie good luck with the perfomance. Break a leg. Paul I have a curious question to ask you. Besides Sonia Kruger and Todd McKenney, have seen or do you keep in touch with your fellow cast mates from Strictly Ballroom? It all ways intreeged me as to how all those people are and how old they are now. I did read about Shirley Hastings who died before they anounced that last award Stictly Ballroom got and I thought that may be she had a heart attack or something like that. I love that movie it was so good and so powerful it defenatly had a lot of meaning behind it. It was like a piece of art work that came to live right before your eyes.

Dearest Paul and All,

Thank you for your good wishes on the opening of
Follies 2007 on Monday!

We will have our big dress rehearsal tomorrow (Friday) with band, costumes, makeup, and the technical guru on hand to make us shine!

We had some friends sitting in on rehearsals
this past week, and even without costumes, we got
wonderful reviews...wish you all could be here!

(Actually, Julie from Ft. Lauderdale will be in
the audience, and she will probably report back!)

The Theatre seats 970 people each night, and I understand we are almost sold out both nights!

Shalom and Love,

Grandma Mil

Millie, Cast and Crew,

Break a leg and knock 'em dead!!! (Tough business when those are the NICE things we say to each other!)

Anyway, I'm sure you'll KILL!!!

Rosie, that's why I love the "Chookas" that Paul introduced to the non-Aussies of this corner. It sounds perfect for a rousing toast using a large frothy mug of Mercs Own!!!!

Chookas, Chookas, Chookas to the Follies Folks!!!!

Melody, I agree with your assessment of PBS's fund raising. But if that's the only time I can catch those programs, I'll even take that. I write them all down on my calender and give my VCR a good workout for those two (plus) weeks. ;) My family watches PBS for its educational programs (we homeschool and PBS has tons of science, geography, math, and language programming) as well as for the cooking, travel, arts, antiques, crafts, home repair, children's, etc., etc., etc. programming. I just love PBS!!

I finally have SB, Cosi, and Sydney:A Story of a City coming!!!!!!! Blockbuster [online video rental] has them listed as "Mailed"!!!!!!! I can hardly wait!!!!!! Dark Planet and Exit to Eden still to come.

Love and best wishes to all,

Marian

Ah Marian, Chookas is Aussie mojo and therefore has no power in the Northern hemisphere - unless it’s actually sent from down under :)

Once had a director who had written his dissertation on theatrical superstitions. Crazy lot, theatre folk – but still, why tempt the fates? So, here’s a spit (or two) to go with those broken legs and NO WHISTLING!!!

Our Spanish dancer Melody could probably add a colorful (or rather, “off” colorful) alternative for “break a leg”, but I’m sure she’s way too much of a lady ;)

Break a leg, Millie and Ellie!!

If the rehearsals are getting rave reviews, can't wait to hear how spectacular the real thing is!!!

Millie, you are the most "go gettin'" grandma I ever heard of!!!!

Love ya,

Margie

Rosie, I can think of a few alternatives to break a leg as well. But I think I'll behave. ;o)

Well . . .

en espanol, mierda--

in French, merde

in English--I'll let you use the imagination! ;)

A "cleaner" alternative we use ('less we get our feet dirty)--"vaya" or "vamos ya" (do not pronounce the s in true Andalucian fashion).

(that's Go for it with the biggest capital G)

Melody

Dear Millie,

Where? do you live??

Marcy

Marcy, we live in a retirement community of 9,000
seniors in south Florida, west of Ft. Lauderdale.

We have been retired here since 1991, and the following year Tara and Paul were on a publicity tour of the U.S. when "Strictly Ballroom" opened to rave reviews. Tara was in Ft.Lauderdale, not far from us, and I think Paul was in California and New York.

I did not discover SB until 2001 when I showed it during one of my movie nights, where I host
"Mildred's Great Movies" once a month. Then, I had started producing and directing a Follies every other year, and Follies 2007 opens in a few
days.

Thank you all for your good wishes. We had our
technical rehearsal, and everyone looked so grand in their sparkling costumes! I was told the
Theatre has been sold out both nights...we're thrilled about that!

Shalom and love,

Grandma Mil
2007 is almost here.

Millie,

How did it go? I was sure there would be a report waiting this morning. (Perhaps our west coast moderator hasn't had a chance to post it yet? [time difference and all]) :-) Or do I have the wrong weekend? I'm dying to hear!!!

Marian

Marian, the matinee was this morning and the two evening performances are this Tuesday and Wednesday.
She's on cloud 9 now, I'm sure, and busy with family and friends in town for the performances. Wish I could have been there for real and not just in spirit!
Evelyn

Hi--checking in, too, on Millie's Follies.

Millie--again, I wish you every success!

Melody

SPECIAL REPORT ON FOLLIES 2007

Millie brings home the magic...

If any of the "oldies" remember my post back over two years ago (I'm sure its still in the archives somewhere on the site) I wrote a small blurb about my first meeting with Millie and her husband (stud muffin) Ellie. At the time MIllie, after finding out that I lived only 20 minutes away from her, invited me to see her "Sights and Sounds" twice a week presentation displaying her talents of putting together clips of some of the greatest moments of music, singing, acting, and dance in movie history according to Millie (which I have to say her choice of clips is not bad). I descibed her presentations at the time as bringing back that feeling of "Magic", the magic of love, hope and dreams that audiences are inspired by watching these films. Today I was able to experience the icing of the cake, Follies 2007.

When I entered from backstage I saw the whole cast sitting in a row of chairs waiting anxiously before curtain call some with quiet repose, others with small smiles or big smiles on the faces all wearing their costumes. I can sense that Millie's passion for bringing Broadway to Wynmoor has been welcomed by many other liked minded people. Thoughout the show I was able to sense that "Magic" again emulated with each performance, the magic of creating a world that all is well, a world of romance, adventure, laughter, of a time when movies and broadway inspired their audience to dream impossible dreams and experience joy in their hearts. The message to me was clear as each member of the cast did their number, whether you're 25 or 75 the spirit of creativity and spreading that joy and laughter will always be there, like the song "young at heart" as long as you have it in your heart that feeling will never change and the show will always go on.

I was a little too shy to sit in one of the front seats but I still had a good seat about fifteen rows back in the isle. Unfortunately I was only able to take one picture during the show because the batteries in my camera pooped out on me but I got one really great shot of Millie that I hope Cat will post somewhere on the site.

Millie as always thank you for sharing your wonderful talent and I can't wait for Follies 2009. Keep on inspiring!

Much love to Millie and everyone,

Julie

Julie, thanks for the report! :o)

Julie, this brings back so many happy memories from 2 years ago!!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and bringing this to live for me!

congrats Millie, Ellie & Follians for a wonderful performance and keep doing it again tonight and tomorrow night!
Love,
Evelyn

Hope the Follies stars shone for you Grandma !!
Abeth - thanks for the note on the kids, now nearing the end of the second week and Cleo is loving school - I'm still confused !
I'm off to Adelaide next weekend for a wedding at Peter Lehmann's winery in the Barossa - can't wait to drink some nice wine and scoff some yummy food ! Just for interests sake !
Hope it's not around the high 30's C temps that they have been getting.
Oh I thought the can't-get - enough - of -Paul people might like to know he has on air a heart felt add for Barnardos which is an underpriveleged children charity here ( actually i don't know is it international )
cheers to all
lov ab

Thanks for the report, Julie. I'm glad they're having a great show, and enjoying it as well.

Bravo!

Melody

"The song is ended, but the melody lingers on..."

I am proud to let all you PCers know that "Follies 2007" was a smash hit, and the phone hasn't stopped ringing all day from people that saw it last night, the closing night.

We were completely sold out both nights (970 seats each night), and with the lights, the costumes, the performances, everyone raved that it was as good as, or even better, than some Broadway shows where one had to pay more than $50.00 a ticket. Our ticket price was a paltry $8.00, and everyone got their monies' worth!

Tomorrow is our big cast party, and everyone is looking forward to that. Our apartment is filled with the scent of red and pink roses that were given to me on stage at the end.

Although most of the cast is recuperating now,
I know that by the end of the year, they will want to know when the next "Follies" will be started, and already a couple new acts have been suggested to me! I also have some left over ideas from 2007, but that will come later.

This "Follies" will always remain the Mother of all Follies for the reasons stated, but there is more, but I will stop now...

Shalom and love,

Grandma Mil

Hey Paul.
Greg in NYC. Tried your Mussel Soup recipe.
Brilliant. Quite easy. Crusty bread suggestion made it even better.
Would love to be able to check out your cooking show.
Grandma Mil, thinking of you and sending you good thoughts and love.

Congratulations to you and everyone associated with the Follies, Grandma Mil!

Kick back, enjoy your roses and good memories of a show well done!

(970 seats--that's one heck of a house!)

Melody
Chicago IL

Hey Paul, Just a curious question seeing as your a huge fan of motor sport as well as dancing, are you going to the Clipsil 500 in my home town of Adelaide?

Greetings to all and bravo to the follies! Hope they were a smashing success and that you are all well and happy. I have missed you all...so very much. Paul, you busy rascal, where have you been doing nothing?

Hugs to my PC Friends and the Mercurios
Diane

Congrats to all the absolutely fabulous Follies performers! Millie, I'm sure you deserve each and every rose.

Can't wait to see the picture Julie took, if Cat posts it. Murphy's Law that the camera battery dies just when you need it most!

I hope you're recovered and sitting blissfully in the moment now.

Hope life is treating you all well. I'm getting ready to open my own little vintage shop in a local indoor flea market, This, in addition to my full time job. I've been wanting to do this for years and I'm really enjoying all the prep. The shop will open on Sunday March 4th. There are approximately 100 booths in this indoor flea market. I'm selling vintage 50's stuff mostly and some hand made decorative items which I hope will make me rich so I can travel to Italy! Wish me luck! I'll tell you more about my creations once I see if they sell or not. ;)

The roses are still in their vases, after 10 days, (it must be the aspirin I put in the water)
and the kudos are still coming in about "Follies 2007" and already I am writing down vague ideas about the next one in 2009, if the fates allow!

Thank you all for your kind wishes!!!

MaryS, good luck on your flea market opening! 1950s stuff? If only I had saved all that stuff,
I would gladly have sent it to you! How about a
film copy of our wedding in 1953? It was quite unusual for people those days to film weddings, for wedding albums were the rage. (A teenage cousin of mine filmed it with his Kodak motion picture camera. He had rich parents and could afford to have such a camera!)

All we have are family pictures, tons of them,
stored in boxes or hung on our family "wall", along with a poster of SB with Paul and Tara!

Shalom and Love,

Grandma Mil

Mary S. – realizing a dream? That makes you a HUGE success already!!!

Great good wishes for your opening and here’s hoping everyone in your corner of the world is hankering for just what you’re selling!!!

Well, thank you all for your support on my little endeavor. I really feel so supported. Even my normal "poo pooers" are really backing me with excitement and hopes for a great adventure. It's been that already, so I will have to agree with your comment Rose, I AM realizing a dream! How fun!

Grandma, you are such a living doll. I bet you really did have some treasures! You know what I love? Old aprons and tablecloths. They're my favorite. I have a nice collection to sell. I will be hitting every Estate sale I am able to get to as soon as our Colorado weather starts to get a bit more pleasant. I have a great elderly couple in my area that I've got a built in source of goodies. They have great garage sales and purchase their stuff on weekend jaunts to Estate sales. I've gotten some awesome stuff from them.

1953...what a great year. I love the 50's. I was born in 51 and named after Marilyn Monroe.

Thanks for the love and support I always feel here in Paul's Corner!

Hello from a newbie,

I've just stumbled across the site and I'm happy to see that there are fans of Paul's work out and about.

I was wondering what projects are in the works for this year and beyond.

Enjoy your day,
Cyndy

Hey, MaryS! Only three more days! Are ya ready??
Starting a new business venture is very exciting and I wonder if you've lost a few nails yet?! (biting) hahah.
Well, here's wishing you good luck and happy selling!!!

Margie

Hiya Paul.

Glad to see you doing so well.

I doubt you'd remember me but I was at ol' JC high the same time as you. In fact, I used to catch the 149 bus from Coobie to Freo like you did.

I used to sit with two other girls, Hendrika and Carol.

I was also in the special drama class. So don't know if you'd remember me. Short, chubby with brown hair and brown eyes.. I was in a lot of Connie's classes.. even that jazz ballet one we had with Chris Screa (if that's how you spell the name)

Were you in that horrendous concert we did? The one where we mimed being on the Titanic..and then Pink Floyd's "Breathe" and then "Time". God we were awful!

Don't know if you were in that as I was a year above you.

ah the memories...

PS I posted this here because I wanted you to see it and not your publicist (?)
:)

Hi Paul, I saw your food show last Saturday. It's great. It's so good that your show is filming in SA and this week looks even better. I do like the look of that huge lobster you caught. I hope you enjoyed eatting it. I am enjoying Dancing with the stars, it's turing out to be a great series and you judges are really fired up wich is great like the show it's self I love watching you judges pay eachother out and make joke around with each other. I also like Bruno, he is so dramatic and so funny and I think you all loved him too. But you are still my fav judge and my fav dancer and you always will be. I was just wondering if you remember seven Grace from Strictly Ballroom he's such a great dancer and I think he'll end up becoming the next Scott Hastings. Any way I'll be tick'n off now. Chat to you soon.
Hugs and kissess.
Becky.