Do you know where the musical CATS came from...some of you will and some won't.  Well - the famous musical...sure many of you have seen its, came from a book of poems by the American born poet TS Eliot- called OLD POSSUMS BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS.   And look where that took him -  to Andrew Lloyd Webber and his classic musical.   Brilliant men, both and I, for one am glad they found each other.

Here is one of TS Eliot's Cat poems - THE NAMING OF CATS.  It is a delight and for me conjures up those irrisitible, difficult, independent little animals.

Jane Merrow is a nominated actress...known for " The Lion In Winter", " The System", and other films. TV includes " The Prisoner, " 1984", " Six Million Dollar Man", " The Incredible Hulk", " Lorna Doone" etc.

Wise advice from American Poet Edmund Vance Cook, poet, humorist and author .  He was prominent in the late 19th and early 20th Century and is easy and fun to narrate.  

I love this poem...who of us doesn't worry ourselves into the night in our troubled world.  I know I do.  Maybe not so much after some wise advice from my Dad, who worried endlessly at night..."why exhaust yourself worrying?  It doesn't change anything!"   And more advice is from Scarlett in " Gone with the Wind"....." I won't think about that now, I'll think about that tomorrow".

Enjoy the poem and stop worrying!

Jane Merrow is a nominated actress...known for " The Lion In Winter", " The System", and other films. TV includes " The Prisoner, " 1984", " Six Million Dollar Man", " The Incredible Hulk", " Lorna Doone" etc.

This is a sweet poem by an American Poet Sara Teasdale.   I am sorry to say I was not familiar with her work,  before I read  this in a book of love poems.  

This is what I found out about her on the Internet:
"Sara Teasdale (August 8, 1884 – January 29, 1933) was an American lyric poet. She was born Sarah Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and used the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger after her marriage in 1914. In 1918, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her 1917 poetry collection Love Songs."

I wonder how many of you knew of her....she wrote beautiful poetry and I will be reading more of her work in future.   It is such a pleasure to remind people, of many wonderful,  creative people and their work, who have gone before.

Jane Merrow is a nominated actress...known for " The Lion In Winter", " The System", and other films. TV includes " The Prisoner, " 1984", " Six Million Dollar Man", " The Incredible Hulk", " Lorna Doone" etc.

This is more about our new film- ANDY,  which we start shooting in March this year and about Indie Film making and litte about Development Hell, as it is known in the business...

Jane Merrow is a nominated actress...known for " The Lion In Winter", " The System", and other films. TV includes " The Prisoner, " 1984", " Six Million Dollar Man", " The Incredible Hulk", " Lorna Doone" etc.

This is more about me and what I am doing at the moment....getting ready to shoot a new film!  It's called ANDY!  We are doing a crowd funding in addition to the investment we have, in case you might want to join in.  Here's the link for more about the film!
https://igg.me/at/ANDY-FeatureFund/x/36771613#/

Jane Merrow is a nominated actress...known for " The Lion In Winter", " The System", and other films. TV includes " The Prisoner, " 1984", " Six Million Dollar Man", " The Incredible Hulk", " Lorna Doone" etc.

Here's my poem for Christmas this year - NATIVITY  by John Donne.  John Donne lived at the same time as Shakespeare.  They were two of England's greatest poets.  John Donne had a rather checkered life, complicated - religion and his marriage, but was a magical poet.  The guitar music is by Danish Composer Palle Knudson., whom  I found  on Pixabay.  If you want more he is listed as Palle 1958.   

Jane Merrow is a nominated actress...known for " The Lion In Winter", " The System", and other films. TV includes " The Prisoner, " 1984", " Six Million Dollar Man", " The Incredible Hulk", " Lorna Doone" etc.

William Shakespeare wrote his poems and plays 400 years ago and, thank goodness they are still with us.  Not only  with us, but loved by many people still.  What a giant of writing.  Sonnet 116 is my favourite...."Let me not to the marriage of true minds"....an honest look at love and its endurance despite the odds.  I hope you like it too!

Jane Merrow is a nominated actress...known for " The Lion In Winter", " The System", and other films. TV includes " The Prisoner, " 1984", " Six Million Dollar Man", " The Incredible Hulk", " Lorna Doone" etc.

This is an interview I recorded for Jaz Wizeman's  podcast series " ITC Entertained the World ",  talking about my work for  ITC..   This interview is largely about DANGER MAN aka SECRET AGENT, the TV series, starring the great Patrick McGoohan, made by ITC, the company owned by Sir Lew Grade, who brought so many  great series to the world  in the 1960' and 1970's .  I appeared in quite  a few.   I really enjoyed talking about DANGER MAN and working for ITC, a happy and memorable period in my career.  The featured picture is from A DATE WITH DORIS- a favourite role in DANGER MAN.

Jane Merrow is a nominated actress...known for " The Lion In Winter", " The System", and other films. TV includes " The Prisoner, " 1984", " Six Million Dollar Man", " The Incredible Hulk", " Lorna Doone" etc.

Here's another poem by the wonderful Wendy.....Wendy Cope, a poet for today!

She really knows how to express the feelings of us women, young or old.  I somehow feel this one relates to an older woman, like me.  Although I never answer emails when I'm drunk!  

Jane Merrow is a nominated actress...known for " The Lion In Winter", " The System", and other films. TV includes " The Prisoner, " 1984", " Six Million Dollar Man", " The Incredible Hulk", " Lorna Doone" etc.

We know Tennessee Williams best as the great American playwright, known for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF etc.  However he wrote poetry, i could not find its title, but the thread that seems to run through all his work -  love, lost love, frustrated, unrequited love, love yearned for is present here as always.

Jane Merrow is a nominated actress...known for " The Lion In Winter", " The System", and other films. TV includes " The Prisoner, " 1984", " Six Million Dollar Man", " The Incredible Hulk", " Lorna Doone" etc.