45

Self portrait with Reuben. It's a little tricky doing a good selfie with a wide angled lens, especially when you have to balance the rules of good composition with the threat of distortion on the margins.

Fab birthday. Hotel del Coronado and then back in LA for the tree lighting at The Grove.

Superbly bushed.

There was one birthday present I dream of and so with the boys duly briefed, we set out with the tripod and self timer. I knew exactly what I wanted - well, I pretty much always do - and we drove the short stretch to the Hotel del Coronado, as seen in Some Like it Hot. Kristina was with us on the trip and she was a great help in tweaking the timer when it decided to flake on me, something to do with being hung from the tripod I think.

Got to Skype my sister in the afternoon, she in the darkness of late November in the UK, me under the blazing SoCal sun.

I'm not sure where the apparent blood stains came from on my dress, but it was certainly clean after lunch (photo evidence of course). I'm putting it down to the ghost of Katie Morgan who haunts The Del.

Later, arriving back in LA, we drove straight to the Grove for the tree lighting ceremony with Mary J Blige steps from us. Aided by a young couple who spoke to the security guards in our defense, we got much closer than we'd imagined in the throbbing crowd. So grateful for her emotional pleas on our behalf. What a philanthropist at heart.