"The Lake House" is likely the kind of movie that's passed down from room to room in a sorority house, or that Trixies stay home from Barleycorn on a Friday night with wine, cheese and crackers to watch. But if you disregard the superfluous appearances of Sandy and Keanu in the picture, you might realise that the true love story in it is that of you and the city of Chicago. And it's based on a true story, too -- the drear of winter (but Lake Michigan, by which the house is built, of course, still beautiful), the excitement of downtown in spring, the perfectly manicured softball diamond (it's Hollywood, right?), the rustling of fall and the L, the sunlight off the skyscrapers. Don't watch the movie, but come visit Chicago!
Recently, Bruce Springsteen packed 30,000 Spaniards into a futbol stadium in Valencia, so it wasn't too much of a surprise when I heard a Briton youth sing "Born in the USA" at the top of his voice at Heathrow, as his party hustled towards a plane en route to the States. The continent does love Bruce.
Fortunately, the continent does not love all things American, such as baseball. Therefore, I did not need to be bombarded by the news of the Cardinals winning the World Series in five -- not ESPNised, not Todayised, only invaded by voicemails and text messages. Thanks for keeping in touch.
It has not been a good last two years for Cubs fans. Well, it hasn't been for 98 years, but the heartburn does get a little unbearable when the Sox and Cards win back to back. So it's just as well that I only missed watching one game of the championship and escaped to where football rules, the same way celebrities seek refuge in tax-free Monaco.
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