Lines From Linda

Rants, raves & musings from actress & author Linda Regan

The only, and I do say, the only, downside of writing a column (especially for a magazine as good as this one), is that the year seems to go quicker. I won’t mention Covid again or the effect it has had on our year, as I always aim to amuse in my column. We are now writing about September - often referred to as the start of THE FALL. Certainly, it should be called The Fall in my book, only The Fall has a different meaning in my September. September is known to be the lucky month. Apparently, you can get your wish granted in September " this month, but first you have to catch one of is known to the first falling autumnal leaves, and before it hits the ground. I am going to go back to be the lucky the year 1988. It seems like yesterday, but in month fact is over 30 years ago. We were filming the end of the very last series of the BBC Hi-De-Hi sitcom series (I was a regular in the show, playing the character April). Some of us had new jobs to go on to, others, like myself, didn’t know what was next. I remember standing by the Olympic-sized swimming pool under its surrounding trees, and looking up at the leaves that had just started to fall, marking the end of summer and our happy Hi-De-Hi days. Someone suggested if we jumped and caught a leaf then we would secure a very lucrative contract. Seemed worth a try, so I leaped in the air, and missed a leaf. I leapt again, and missed another flighty, fluttery one. They don’t just fall, they sort of half dance one way and then another, often sideways, but even sometimes with a bit of wind they may flutter up again for a second. So, first you have to try to judge where the wind will take them. Third time lucky I told myself as I leaped eagerly once again towards a crisp browning leaf as the wind blew it away from its tree. I grabbed its edge. ‘Yes,’ I shrieked (I was in midday air still), but then it slipped from my grasp and, as I landed back on the ground with a thud, my footing wasn’t secure and I started to slide. The damp leaf had adhered itself to the bottom of my shoe and I was unable to grip the ground. Unable to stop myself, I slid, then toppled, straight into the freezing- cold Olympic pool, fortunately at the shallow end, except I was fully dressed. Someone shouted, ‘Are you OK?’ and then as hands reached to pull me out -‘Blimey that was lucky,’ someone else then said. And as it happened, it was; the leaf was still ingrained on the bottom of my shoe and I got an excellent television contract the next day.

For more about me and my crime novels see www.lindareganonline.co.uk

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