Category: Personal and Family Life

Throwback Thursday to Ride4Hugo in Memory of Hugo and Helen

L-R: Damian, his sister Amanda Yaxley, his brother Gareth Lewis, and brother in-law Charles Yaxley during the bike ride in memory of Hugo and Helen in June 2022

I find it beyond impressive when families turn their tragic losses into good for many others in memory of the loved ones they lost. Ride4Hugo, a campaign Damian’s family run in memory of Hugo Yaxley, Damian and Helen’s nephew, who tragically died in a car accident in November 2020, and also in memory of Helen, who passed away only 5 months after Hugo’s accident, is an extraordinary effort aimed to do good for so many people.

source: @yaxleymumma Instagram

And Hugo’s older brother Josh running the London Marathon last weekend in memory of Hugo and to raise funds for Place2Be, a mental health charity for children and young people, inspires me to re-visit the family’s Ride4Hugo campaign. Well done, Josh.

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Backstage with Damian Lewis

The King and I 🙂

I told you that my reports from the second leg of Damian Lewis’ ‘Mission Creep’ UK Tour would be threefold. I started with Damian sitting with me for a relaxed and insightful interview about his music followed by all I could remember from the four gigs I attended. And, now, ladies and gentlemen, I am thrilled to give you a fun backstage report from the tour! Continue reading “Backstage with Damian Lewis”

Helen McCrory: Celebrating A Phenomenal Woman and Her Life

I have always known that Helen was a brilliant actress but now I also know she was such a class act in life and death. The way she chose to live, bravely, focusing on her family, work and charity rather than on her illness and death, is a lesson for us all about how to live and die with dignity. She was such a bright star that I know she will keep on living through her brilliant work and the two wonderful children she raised with her beloved husband.

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Happy St. David’s Day – Damian Lewis and His Welsh Roots

happystdavidsday

Happy St. David’s Day, everyone!

Today is the Feast Day of St. David, the patron saint of Wales. Thus, in honor of the day, why not talk about Damian and his Welsh roots?

Here is Damian talking about himself as a “Londoner” and “British” at Times Talks London.

So far so good… Damian is proud of his Welsh roots, and we’re talking about Wales today! But… what do I talk about when I talk about Wales? What do I really know about Wales except the fact that Damian is half-Welsh? Well… I can drop a few Welsh celebrity names like a pro…Sir Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Burton, Gareth Bale… and, of course, the wonderful Denise Salway aka the “Knitting Witch” that creates the wonderful “Wolf Hall in Wool” collection and who made, for Damian, a special personalized gift!

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From Lockdown to Mission Creep: Damian Lewis’ Music Journey – Part II

“I wanted the album to give a sense of a journey to this point, from busking ‘til now. I suddenly had a lot to say. People will judge if it’s any good or not, but for me, it felt entirely natural.” – Damian Lewis

photo credit: Rhys Frampton

You can read Part I here. We had a cliffhanger at the end of Part I… Steve Abbott introduced Damian to Giacomo Smith, one of the best  jazz musicians working  in London today…

Then Jay Rayner of  Out to Lunch podcast let the world know about Damian performing Dr. John’s “Such a Night” with Giacomo and his band Kansas Smittys – and asked Damian if the experience was as fun as it looked… Continue reading “From Lockdown to Mission Creep: Damian Lewis’ Music Journey – Part II”