Barbara Cartland :The Queen of Romance

Barbara Cartland was a serious influence in my teenage years. It was mostly her delicious stories that taught me many things about the Victorian era. The heaving bosoms and the bodice ripping and the quivering lips and innocent eyes had an effect on how I viewed romance and fashion. I just loved those little novels. I still do.
Here's a bit of information about the Queen of Romance.



Dame Barbara Cartland was the most prolific author in British history, and was known as the “Queen of the Romance Novel” for her prodigious output of bodice-rippers. Barbara Cartland published more than 700 books in her lifetime, including 5 autobiographies and several books on cooking and health. But the romance novels were her clear bread and butter. Cartland published her first novel, Jig-Saw, in 1923 and was off and running. From the 1970s through the 1990s, she set world records by writing around two dozen novels each year. Barbara Cartland was also a celebrity, famous for her involvement in charities and social causes and easily recognized by her pink chiffon outfits. She was named a Dame of the British Empire in 1992. She died eight years later, in 2000, at age 98.

Barbara Cartland was married twice: to Alexander McCorquodale (1927-33) and to Hugh McCorquodale (1936-63). The two men were cousins…Hmmmm.... I wonder if there's some drama in that.
 Barbara Cartland was also related to Diana, Princess of Wales by marriage and was sometimes referred to as Diana’s step-grandmother.

Man Crush Monday : James Hadley Chase

This is exciting!  I finally tracked down the bio of one of the greatest crime novelists of all time...and a personal favourite. Here's my hero of the week. James Hadley Chase. I'm not surprised that the name was just a pseudonym.
Almost everybody knows somebody who was nuts about his books. Enjoy.


René Lodge Brabazon Raymond was born on 24th December 1906 in London, England, the son of Colonel Francis Raymond of the colonial Indian Army, a veterinary surgeon. His father intended his son to have a scientific career, was initially educated at King's School, Rochester, Kent. He left home at the age of 18 and became at different times a children's encyclopedia salesman, a salesman in a bookshop, and executive for a book wholesaler before turning to a writing career that produced more than 90 mystery books. His interests included photography (he was up to professional standard), reading and listening to classical music, being a particularly enthusiastic opera lover. Also as a form of relaxation between novels, he put together highly complicated and sophisticated Meccano models.

In 1932, Raymond married Sylvia Ray, who gave him a son. They were together until his death fifty three years later. Prohibition and the ensuing US Great Depression (1929–1939), had given rise to the Chicago gangster culture just prior to World War II. This, combined with her book trade experience, made him realise that there was a big demand for gangster stories. He wrote as R. Raymond, James Hadley Chase, James L. Docherty, Ambrose Grant and Raymond Marshall.

During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force, achieving the rank of Squadron Leader. Chase edited the RAF Journal with David Langdon and had several stories from it published after the war in the book Slipstream: A Royal Air Force Anthology.

Raymond moved to France in 1956 and then to Switzerland in 1969, living a secluded life in Corseaux-sur-Vevey, on Lake Geneva, from 1974. He eventually died there peacefully on 6 February 1985.

Crash Beans Diet: To Do or Not To Do?

Imagine my shock when my mother took one look at me yesterday and said "you better watch it, Ogoo. You've put on a little weight".
That's mummy's nice way of saying "baby girl, you're FAT". I saw my entire year of a boring weight loss journey  flash before my eyes. Passing up on red velvet cake,  resisting the call of Snickers at candy stands while waiting to check out my purchases , skipping dinner and munching on garden eggs even when I was dying for a bowl of spaghetti and big glass of sweet sweet milk, walking instead of riding, skipping noodles and eating boring ass oatmeal instead. All down the drain because of...because...why??!
For a moment there I was clueless about where the subtle extra jiggle came from. Then it hit me!
2 weeks ago, I was away from my usual environment and food didn't come on time  or regularly for a couple of weeks. I guzzled Milo day and night.
Ouch.
So I brought all this on my self. For my own mother to notice and talk? It's critical. So I've sentenced myself to 7 days of eating beans and little else. Its day one today and I'm already regretting making such a vibe killing decision. The major reason is that we gonna have a birthday party on set for Chinedu Ikedieze. I can't believe I'll have to say no to the Red velvet cake that is a sure thing...and small chops...Asun! Aaaaggghhh!

More Nominations for Straight Outta Compton

Next year is looking good for the  NWA biopic  "Straight Outta Compton"... With an SAG nomination already, now 5 nominations for the NAACP Image Awards, the big one is almost a sure thing.
Oscar nominations Lord! Please! Lol. Don't mind me, I've invested several skips of my heartbeats in this film. I haven't recovered yet.
Nor do I want to.

Unchain Your Dog!!!

I'm fascinated by the critters. I love animals. I adore dogs and I'm unapologetic about this fact. It breaks my heart to see dogs chained for hours on end. In the sun and rain, in their own mess which your horrendous chains have forced them to make when they simply cannot fight against the call of nature anymore. FYI, dogs absolutely hate making a mess where they sleep.
Dogs are built by nature to be pack animals. They thrive in a pack. That's FAMILY in dog-speak. They see you, their owner as their family. They want to spend their days dozing at your feet. And frolicking. They were made to run just as birds were made to fly and humans made to think and visualise and dream.
Anyone can spot the difference in personalities between a chained dog and and a free one.
You can tell this is something I'm passionate about. I'm totally of the opinion that if you're not going to let a dog be a dog, then you shouldn't have a dog.
I'm out.

The Irish Charm

What is it about Irish people that is just...adorable? Okay okay. I admit that my contact with the Irish has been somewhat limited in the real sense of the word. Lol. Hey! Don't laugh, I'm a Nigerian girl living in Nigeria. Never been out. 

Irish priests and Irish bands... That's the  limit of my experience. who doesn't think the accent is the cutest thing? The brogue sensitive to the ears? They speak as though they're afraid of disturbing the air in front of their faces. Lol. And the Irish music is quite literally out of this world.

Oh yes! Irish potatoes too. Jk. Lol. 

I don't know how this affects the price of salt in the market... It doesn't. Just musings of a bored and overstressed female. Yes. Its possible.