LOOKING BACK...HOW I FELL IN LOVE WITH ROMANCE

I've not posted for a while because I have been immersed in the past and driving my family nuts.  When I say past, I am referring to how I fell in love with romance and a good love story.  Before you all start to yawn and disappear, I shall try not to bore you.  At the moment erotica is selling like hot cakes and that's great.  Me personally?....Give me a good love story anyday.

I have been revisiting my youth and watching, thanks to "You Tube" episodes of Little House on the Prairie (LHOP), Anne of Green Gables (AOGG) and The Waltons.  Two years ago I bought the entire DVD series of Watching, a romantic comedy set in Liverpool and shown in the late 80s early 90s.  I will admit that for a romantic like me, these are pure escapism. 

Let me start with LHOP.  I absolutely adored Mary and Adam's romance.  It was sweet and innocent.  Adam was intense, yet funny.  Looking back at their episodes,  I can see where my Rhean originated from.   Adam wasn't afraid to cry, to show his feelings and the best thing of all, to snog her senseless.  Mary, bless her little cotton socks was swept off her feet by him.  I loved the way they portrayed a young married couple.  However towards the end of their time on LHOP, especially when Adam regained his sight.  Well, I could have happily swung for him, but in those prairie days, women stood by their men.  The actors chemistry on screen was believeable to me as the viewer, and I really loved the romance they acted out.

Fast forward 50 or so years (history wise) to The Waltons.  Mary Ellen and Curt's romance was short and firey.  Bizarrely, the writers decided to make her a widow from Pearl Harbour.  Just as she finds romance with Arlington Westcott Jones III (Jonesy), she finds out that Curt is alive and then has to get divorced.
In the decent three movie specials that followed, I was immersed in Erin and Paul's relationship, and when Mary Ellen and Jonesy FINALLY married, those wonderful writers decided to really screw things up for them.  After an accident, Mary Ellen couldn't have the children she and Jonesy desperately wanted.  Still it all worked out for them.  Jonesy, with his wacky sense of humour, huge smile and devotion to his wife had his happy ending with Mary Ellen, with the help of Ma Walton.  Their reunion scene at the end of Mothers Day on Waltons Mountain was just perfect!

Coming into the 80s and my teenage years, I confess to having a crush on Maxwell Caulfield from Grease 2 (therapy has been arranged).  Vince and Penny from Just Good Friends, and then in 1985 or thereabouts, I was transported over to Prince Edward Island and Anne of Green Gables came into my life.  Her relationship with Gilbert was pre-ordained.  I knew of course, because I had read the books (:D).  She was firey, Anne had an imagination and I wanted to be her, red hair and all.  Her relationship with Gilbert was fantastic to watch.  I loved the continuity of the actors.  The whole portrayal of their tempestuous relationship from Gil whispering "Carrotts" and being whacked on the head with a slate, to Anne falling into a mud splattered field chasing the wrong cow.  Finally, at the end of the Continuing Story Gil whispering to Anne on his sickbed "There will never be anyone else for me but you".  Tears fell down my face.  She had turned him down so many times.  On the bridge as the sun was setting, Gilbert told her he couldnt offer her any marble halls.  She didnt want marble halls, she just wanted him.  Then their first kiss......their first kiss.  Oh heck.  Pure romance and escapism.  I was and still am entranced by the whole series.  However, the final chapter is a bit pantsy.  Anne and Gil finally get married, but the writers took a few liberties with the story, and I am glad the writers managed to give Anne and Gil their wedding and HEA.

Absolutely gorgeous.  As a teenager in the 80s, there was lots of romance going on.  Mike and Plain Jane, Drew and Libby from Neighbours.  The Aussie soaps did romance well, Snowy River The McGregor Saga was a particular favourite of mine.  Then Watching burst onto ITV and I was hooked.  Brenda Wilson and Malcolm Stoneway's romance was rockier than Brighton beach.  Had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster at Thorpe park, and it was brilliant!.  There was never a more mismatched couple than those two.  She a kooky, strangely made up Liver Bird and Malcolm, a geeky birdwatcher who loved his motorbike and sidecar.  I laughed when they got together, cried when the writers married him off to someone else and of course, when the series ended and they finally got together, as they were supposed to all along, clapped and whoooped.  (Strange person that I am).

I have managed to write my first ever romance novel manuscript which is staring at me begging me to revise it lol.  Looking back to my past obsessions with books and tv shows, I can see different elements of my hero in the characters above.  I still love that warm feeling that floods my brain when seeing them kiss either for the first time, or perhaps after an disagreement. The LHOP Wedding of Mary and Adam is an excellent example of getting back to basics.  That first spark of interest. The first move.  Their first kiss.  These are the elements that have had me hooked on romance.  Speaking of kissing.  Don't underestimate the power of a kiss, especially a long tender kiss with the man you love.  At the end of a book or a film there is the premise of the HEA.  I am living with a manic but loving family, insane cats and of course my frog that turned into my own romantic hero.  He is geeky, loving, affectionate, considerate.  Drives me totally bonkers at times, but boy, his kisses reduce me to absolute mush and I love him to bits (Little bits at times)

Until I get round to blogging again! KEEP IT KOOKY!