#diamond jubilee concert

[world-of-wales]

CATHERINE'S STYLE FILES - 2012

4 JUNE 2012 || The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William attended the Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace

[thiziri]

Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Tim Laurence having a blast at the Diamond Jubilee Concert, on 04 June 2012.

[ifreakingloveroyals]

3 June 2012 | Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge board the royal barge 'Spirit of Chartwell' during the Diamond Jubilee Thames River Pageant in London, England. For only the second time in its history the UK celebrates the Diamond Jubilee of a monarch. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrates the 60th anniversary of her ascension to the throne. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have flocked to London to witness the spectacle of the weekend’s celebrations. The Queen along with all members of the royal family will participate in a River Pageant with a flotilla of a 1,000 boats accompanying them down The Thames, the star studded free concert at Buckingham Palace, and a carriage procession and a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral. (c) Matt Dunham - WPA Pool/Getty Images

[philibetexcerpts]

26 January 1954: The Queen wore a gown of ice-blue silver brocade with a halter neckline and a low cut at the back for the royal concert held at Dunedin Town Hall.

As for the jewelry, she wore the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, the Diplomatic Corps diamond floral earrings, Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee necklace, the Edinburgh wedding bracelet, and her Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 101 watch.

[aimeedaisies]

🎶 The royal family meeting music royalty! 🎶

1963 - Princess Margaret meeting The Fab Four; John, Paul, George and Ringo and manager Brian Epstein in the background

1968 - Princess Anne meeting Motown legends The Supremes at the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium

1972 - Princess Anne meeting Jane Asher, girlfriend of Paul McCartney from ‘63 to ‘68, at the charity benefit premiere of the film "Henry VIII and His Six Wives"

1974 - Princess Margaret talking to Elton John at a charity dinner

1975 - Princess Anne with members of the Bay City Rollers at the Carl Alan Awards held at the Lyceum Ballroom, London

1975 - Queen Elizabeth meeting Barbra Streisand at the premiere of Funny Lady (the sequel to her hit movie Funny Girl) in 1975.

1985 - Princess Diana with rock legends David Bowie, Brian May and Roger Taylor at the Live AID performance, Wembley Stadium

1985 - Princess Diana chatting with Elton John and George Michael at the Live AID Performance, Wembley Stadium

1997 - Queen Elizabeth meeting Posh, Scary, Ginger, Baby & Sporty AKA the Spice Girls backstage at the Royal Variety Performance, Victoria Palace Theatre

2012 - Queen Elizabeth talking to Elton John, Cliff Richard, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones and Paul McCartney, backstage at her Diamond Jubilee concert held at Buckingham Palace

[elsalouisa]

"The visit of the Czar and Czarina in 1901 gives rise to even more riotous celebrations. It is the peak of the Franco-Russian alliance. The band of the First Regiment of the Imperial Guard—the Preobrazhensky Regiment—is in town giving concerts. Russian uniforms are everywhere; you scarcely ever hear the “Marseillaise” without hearing immediately afterward “Bozhe Tzaria Khrani’; “Vive la France!” is followed by “Vive la Russie!” Beneath the crossed flags—the tricolor and double eagle—on the streets bearded Russians and wiry French tush into each other’s arms and kiss and, to make it more Russian, three times on each cheek. A Cossack almost gives his life for the jubilee celebrating the Franco-Russian accord when he is mobbed by the affection of the crowds as a member of Their Majesties’ retinue. The entente cordiale is constantly more cordial.

Then comes the Ballet Russe of Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev. It is madness. The colors of the costumes of Léon Bakst are bright and strange. Nijinsky’s fantastic leaps draw cheers. The incomparable Anna Pavlova is an ethereal swan. The inspired dancing of Mordkin, Massine and Karsavina to the music of Stravinsky, Debussy and Ravel drives Parisians wild! People start to pick up Russian words, to change ‘their apartments and be delighted if “c’est trés Russe.” Paris is embarked on a Russian craze—women affect la maniére Russe, wearing Caucasian blouses, Cossack boots, Ukrainian hats as stylized by the French modistes. Coats are tcherkeskas, kaftans, poddevkas —broad in the shoulders, wide in the skirt, with braided belts catching up wasp waists. It’s very chic. I must get one, two, three of everything...

I glimpse the Czar of all the Russias and the Czarina for the first time this summer at an immense reception at the Palais de l'Elysée, where a beaming President Faure receives Their Majesties. Nicholas II charms everyone. He is short, broad-shouldered, stands straight and looks at the crowd from patient dark gray-blue eyes. He is earnest, the living image of his mother, and appears as a rule in a simple uniform, often that of a colonel of one of his favorite regiments. The Empress, Her Majesty Alexandra, a little German Princess of Hesse, is taller and holds herself proudly. Her coiffure, just a small tight lump of blond hair, is the despair of Delacroix, the court hairdresser. She is usually in white and wearing jewels, mostly pearls and diamonds, from ears to waist. She wears them without joy. She does not inspire the spontaneous French. “Oh, la la! Elle a une figure d’enterrement!” I hear on the streets. (She has the expression of one who follows a funeral.) When I am first presented to her this sadness is thought to be because she is a mother only of girls. Always she asks when a matron is presented to her, “Have you children?” And looks sadder than ever if the lady, plunging in a deep reverence, answers, “A son, Your Majesty.”

Marguerite Cassini "Never a dull moment"

[forever-fixating]

Howdy, friend!

Here, you'll find a list of my completed projects, along with works-in-progress (both posted and ones I have behind the scenes.) Feel free to ask questions about any of the WIPs because I am a story nerd and love to geek out about what I'm writing!

Completed:

All I Want for Christmas is You (One-Shot)

“I’ve been talking with Catherine.”

Alex let out a wet laugh. “I don’t know whether to be excited or afraid.”

“Watch it, kiddo,” she chided with a light smack to the back of his head. “Anyway, we’ve been talking, and we both agree you boys deserve some alone time together.”

---

With the election drama behind them, Ellen Claremont and Catherine Fox conspire to give their boys an early Christmas present: three weeks alone in a cabin in the Rocky Mountains. Alex and Henry couldn't be more excited.

Click here to read!

if you guys only knew… (One-Shot)

Summary: Alex livetweets his and Henry’s reactions to the season two finale of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire

Click here to read!

Love on the Menu (Multi-Chapter)

Henry Fox has a side hustle at his job as a host in an upscale restaurant. He loves setting up romantic moments for guests who want a little something extra for their night out to dinner. A bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne for the couple celebrating their 50th anniversary? Easy. A special table with candles and a dessert with a surprise for the woman about to propose? Child’s play. But despite playing Cupid for the restaurant’s guests, Henry has never been on the receiving end of a grand romantic gesture. So imagine his surprised delight when anonymous gifts begin appearing just for him. 

Who is Henry’s secret admirer? Only Valentine’s Day will tell.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Works in Progress

Posted

living in a new normal (Multi-Chapter)

Henry Fox could write an entire dissertation based on how much information his twin nieces Penelope and Grace have told him about their favorite band, Austin Heat. The girls peppered him with neverending facts since he surprised them with tickets and meet-and-greet passes to their concert at Madison Square Garden last Christmas.

Henry Fox takes his nieces to a concert of their favorite band, Austin Heat. He gets a bit more than he bargained for when he meets singer and guitarist Alex Claremont-Diaz.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |

Accompanied with Podfic

Chef Specials of Love

One-shots set in the world of Love on the Menu. These will include moments from the story from Alex's POV as well as follow-up moments to see the first year of the boys in love and beyond.

Part 1 |

A Tournament for His Heart

In the ancient island kingdom of Lerasea, Prince Henry is trapped. Following the tragic deaths of his parents and the poisoning of his beloved twin sister Bea, he has been living under the oppressive thumb of his grandmother, Queen Mary. Now she has informed Henry that he is to be the grand prize of the joust as the culmination for the month-long celebration of her Diamond Jubilee. But little does she know, Henry is aware that this so-called contest is a farse, that she intends the wicked Lord Richards of Heinsestadt to be the victor, no matter what.

But not all hope is lost…

In the fledging but progressive country of Ararbas, Prince Alexander Claremont-Diaz receives an invitation to attend the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and a chance to compete for Prince Henry’s hand. He knows the odds will be stacked against him, but Alex's love for the golden boy he once knew has never faltered. He accepts the invitation, determined to free his love from Mary’s sinister clutches.

Will the young lovers finally get their happily ever after? Or will the gods see their story end in tragedy and heartbreak?

Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two |

WIPs Behind the Scenes

Please don't say you love me (Multi-Chapter)

Summary: When Henry has his first heartbreak, he leaves England for the Southern comfort of his Granny Bea in his dad’s hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas. There, he finds more than he was looking for in a queer community where he’s able to explore and accept his sexuality as he never had before and an infuriating server/bartender/barista Alex who challenges him at every turn. Can he set aside his heartbreak and allow himself to be truly loved for the first time? (My passionate passion project. I won’t post it until it’s done, but I’ve been slowly tinkering on it. I am beyond excited for this story and can only hope I can do its themes and my interpretations of these characters I love justice.)

Notes on International Relations (Multi-Chapter)

Summary: When First Daughter Alexa Claremont-Diaz decides to spend a year studying abroad at Oxford, her mom decides to “help” by arranging for her to room with Princess Henrietta Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor. This will prove to be very awkward as Alex can’t stand the Princess due to a terrible first impression at the Rio Olympics.

But little does Alex know, two semesters in close proximity with Hen will bring a whole new meaning to “international relations.”

a love time will lie down and be still for (Multi-Chapter)

Summary: To be a child of the 90s is to love this movie. Henry and Bea are siblings bound by a family curse that dooms the ones they love to an early grave. Can love really travel back in time and heal a broken heart? Will Henry and Bea defeat the curse that has plagued their family for generations? Will Henry get the mythical impossible boy he cast a spell for as a child?

[kylieforeverandever]

Kylie Minogue performs on stage during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace in London on June 4, 2012

[revilermpls]

Best of 2024.5: Josh's Best Albums, Concerts and Songs

We’ve made it halfway through another year, and who knows if we’ll make it to our end of year lists, so let’s celebrate the music we’ve loved so far this year with our annual Reviler “Mid Year Best of” check in. Below you can see Josh’s favorite albums, songs and concerts.  Best National (not really in order, but kind of) Can – Live in Paris 1973 Cindy Lee – Diamond Jubilee Water Damage – In…

[thiziri]

Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Tim Laurence singing at the Diamond Jubilee Concert, on 04 June 2012.

[ifreakingloveroyals]

3 June 2012 | Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall travel on The Spirit of Chartwell along the Thames during the River Pageant of the Diamond Jubilee in London, England. For only the second time in its history the UK celebrates the Diamond Jubilee of a monarch. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrates the 60th anniversary of her ascension to the throne. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have flocked to London to witness the spectacle of the weekend's celebrations. The Queen, along with all members of the royal family, will participate in a River Pageant with a flotilla of a 1,000 boats accompanying them down the Thames, a star studded free concert at Buckingham Palace and a carriage procession and a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral. (c) Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

[brookston]

Holidays 9.1

Holidays

American Chess Day

Arts Day (Bardo)

Back to Hogwarts Day

Bahti Meskerem (Eritrea)

Building and Code Staff Appreciation Day

Carrington Event Day

Chicken Boy Day

Childhood Cancer Awareness Day (Tennessee)

Constitution Day (Slovakia)

Creation Day

Daffodil Day (New Zealand)

Day of Knowledge (Estonia, Russia)

Disaster Prevention Day (Japan)

Draft Horse Day

Emma M. Nutt Day (a.k.a. Nutt Day)

Flag Day (Honduras)

Footy Colors Day (Australia)

Ginger Cat Appreciation Day

Global Talent Acquisition Day [1st Wednesday]

Human Resources Professional Day (South Dakota)

International Cap Classique Day

International Day of Awareness of the Dolphins of Taiji

International Naalbinding Day

International Neil Diamond Day

International Primate Day

International Trade Union Action Day for Peace

International Women in Cyber Day

Journalist Day (Taiwan)

Kama Sutra Day

Kanto Earthquake Memorial Day (Japan)

Knowledge Day (Armenia, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine)

Letter Appreciation Day

Lose Your Virginity Day

Mary Had a Little Lamb Day

Meteorological Autumn begins (Northern Hemisphere)

Meteorological Spring begins (Southern Hemisphere)

National Acne Positivity Day

National Boykin Spaniel Day

National Child Identity Theft Awareness Day

National Disaster Prevention Day (Japan)

National Forgiveness Day

National Homecare Day of Action

National Hotel Employee Day

National Little Black Dress Day

National Marmoset Day

National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day

National Police K-9 Day

901 Day (Tennessee)

No Music Day (Nigeria)

Onam (Hindu harvest festival; India)

Partridge Day (UK)

Pink Cadillac Day

Presidential Message Day (Mexico)

Random Acts of Kindness Day (NZ)

Respect the Drive Day

Revolution Day (Libya; 1969)

Rites of Moawita (Elder Scrolls)

Save Japan’s Dolphins Day

Sing A Silly Song In Bed Day

Teacher’s Day (Singapore)

Tourist Day

Toy Tips Executive Toy Test Day

Trout Day (French Republic)

Veteran’s Day (Poland)

Wattle Day (Australia)

White Rabbit Day

World CLL Day

World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

World Day of the Fingerprint

World Emotional Trauma Awareness Day

World Freestyle Football Day

World Letter Writing Day

World PCOS Day of Unity

World War Two Anniversary Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cherry Popover Day

National Burnt Ends Day

National Gyro Day

National Oatloaf Day

National Tofu Day (UK)

Oyster Season begins

1st Friday in September

Bandcamp Friday [1st Friday]

Belgian Beer Weekend begins (Belgisch Bierweekend) [1st Friday thru Sunday]

Bring Your Manners To Work Day [1st Friday]

Casual Day (South Africa) [1st Friday]

College Colors Day [Friday nearest 9.1]

Dri-jerbal (Labor Day; Marshall Islands) [1st Friday]

Freddie Mercury’s Montreux Memorial Day begins [Weekend of 1st Friday]

Labor Day Weekend (U.S. & Canada) [Begins Friday before 1st Monday in September]

Benton Neighbor Day (Benton, Missouri)

Britt Draft Horse Show (Britt, Iowa)

Bumbershoot (Seattle, Washington)

Central City Rock 'n' Roll Cruise-in & Concert (Central City, Kentucky)

Cleveland National Air Show (Cleveland, Ohio)

Clothesline Fair (Prairie Grove, Arkansas)

Colombia River Cross Channel Swim (Hood River, Oregon)

Colorado Balloon Classic (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Commonwheel Labor Day Weekend Arts and Crafts Festival (Manitou Springs, Colorado)

Daniel Boone Pioneer Days (Winchester, Kentucky)

Fort Bridger Rendezvous (Fort Bridger, Wyoming)

Great Bathtub Race (Nome, Alaska)

Great Grove Bed Race (Coconut Grove, Florida)

Harvest Wine Celebration (Livermore, California)

Hog Capital of the World Festival (Kewanee, Illinois)

Hopkinton State Fair (Contoocook, New Hampshire)

Iroquois Arts Festival (Howes Cave, New York)

Johnson City Field Days (Johnson City, New York)

Jubilee Days Festival (Zion, Illinois)

Lifelight Outdoor Music Festival (Worthing, South Dakota)

Mackinac Bridge Walk (St. Ignace, Michigan)

National Championship Chuckwagon Races (Clinton, Arkansas)

National Hard Crab Derby and Fair (Crisfield, Maryland)

National Sweetcorn Festival (Hoopeston, Illinois)

Oatmeal Festival (Bertram/Oatmeal, Texas)

Odyssey Greek Festival (Orange, Connecticut)

On the Waterfront (Rockford, Illinois)

Old Threshers Reunion (Mount Pleasant, Iowa)

Oregon Trail Rodeo (Hastings, Nebraska)

Payson Golden Onion Days (Payson, Utah)

Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts Colonial Festival (Greensburg, Pennsylvania)

Popeye Picnic (Chester, Illinois)

Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival (Independence, Missouri)

Scandinavian Fest (Budd Lake, New Jersey)

Sta-Bil Nationals Championship Lawn Mower Race (Delaware, Ohio)

Snake River Duck Race (Nome, Alaska)

Taste of Colorado (Denver, Colorado)

Taste of Madison (Madison, Wisconsin)

Totah Festival (Farmington, New Mexico)

Waikiki Roughwater Swim (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Westfest Czech Heritage Festival (West, Texas)

West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival (Clarksburg, West Virginia)

Wisconsin State Cow-Chip Throw (Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin)

Woodstock Fair (Woodstock, Connecticut)

World Championship Barbecue Goat Cook-Off (Brady, Texas)

National Chianti Day [1st Friday]

National Food Bank Day [1st Friday]

National Lazy Mom’s Day [1st Friday]

Wear Teal Day [1st Friday]

Independence Days

Alberta Province Day (Canada; 1905)

Baltia (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Chrisland (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

Gymnasium State (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Saskatchewan Province Day (Canada; 1905)

Uzbekistan (a.k.a. Mustaqillik Kuni); from USSR, 1991)

Feast Days

Constantius (Costanzo) of Aquino (Christian; Saint)

Dalton (Positivist; Saint)

David Pendleton Oakerhater (Anglican Communion)

Ecclesiastical New Year (Orthodox Christian)

Feast of Macuilxochitl (5 Flower God; Mexico)

Festival of the Grapevines I: Ariadne (Pagan)

Felix, Donatus, Arontius, Honoratus, Fortunatus, Sabinianus, Septimus, Januarius, Vitalis, Satyrus, abd Repostius, 12 brothers (Christian; Martyrs)

Festival of Juno Regina and Jupiter Liber (Ancient Rome)

Fiacre (France, Ireland; Christian; Saint) [also 8.30]

Firminus II (Christian; Saint)

Gideon the Judge (Christian; Saint)

Giles (Christian; Saint)

Hobbit Remembrance Day (Pastafarian)

Loup (a.k.a. Lupus or Lew) of Sens (Christian; Saint)

Nivard (a.k.a. Nivo; Christian; Saint)

Ramalamadingdong begins (Church of the SubGenius)

Simeon Stylite (Eastern Orthodox)

Sixtus of Reims (Christian; Saint)

Taddeo Zuccari (Artology)

Terentian (a.k.a. Terrence; Christian; Saint)

Uncle Ermisimo (Muppetism)

Verena (Christian; Saint)

Vibiana (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Historically Bad Day (Germany invaded Poland, earthquakes in Iran & Japan & 8 other tragedies) [7of 11]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

Address Unknown, by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor (Novel; 1938)

The Aleph, by Jorge Luis Borges (Short Story; 1945)

Arsenic and Old Lace (Film; 1943)

The Autograph Hound (Disney Cartoon; 1939)

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (Film; 1947)

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (Novel; 2009) [#2]

Chocolates for Breakfast, by Pamela Moore (Novel; 1956)

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, by Thomas De Quincey (Autobiography; 1821)

The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen (Novel; 2001)

Crank (Film; 2006)

Dames (Film; 1934)

Dr. Feelgood, by Mötley Crüe (Album; 1989)

Dug Days (Animated TV Series; 2021)

The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje (Novel; 1992)

Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton (Novel; 1911)

A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway (Novel; 1929)

A Farewell to Kings, by Rush (Album; 1977)

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, by Dr. Seuss (Children’s Books; 1938)

Hook, Lion and Sinker (Disney Cartoon; 1950)

Honey’s Money (WB MM Cartoon; 1962)

Idiocracy (Film; 2006)

Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1599)

Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov (Novel; 1955)

The Mass Psychology of Fascism, by Wilhelm Reich (Political Book; 1933)

Middlemarch, by George Eliot (Novel; 1871)

The Mighty Hercules (Animated TV Series; 1963)

The Old Man and the Sea (Short Story; 1952)

Outside Providence (Film; 1999)

Peculiar Penguins (Disney Cartoon; 1934)

The Plastics Inventor (Disney Cartoon; 1944)

Private Eyes, by Hall & Oates (Album; 1981)

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran (Poems; 1923)

Rear Window (Film; 1954)

A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf (Novel; 1929)

The Slap-Happy Mouse (WB MM Cartoon; 1956)

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, by John le Carré (Novel; 1963)

The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin (Novel; 1972)

Haydn String Quartets, Opus 10, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Quartets; 1785)

Swordfishtrombones, by Tom Waits (Album; 1983)

TikTok (Social Media App; 2016)

Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller (Novel; 1934) What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong (Song; 1967)

When Worlds Collide, by Philip Wylie (Novel; 1932)

The Women (Film; 1939)

Worth Dying For, 15th Jack Reacher book, by Lee Child (Novel; 2010)

You Can’t Take It with You (Film; 1938)

Today’s Name Days

Ägidius, Ruth, Verena (Austria)

Damyan, Damyana, Kozma, Kuzman, Simeon, Simona (Bulgaria)

Aron, Egidije, Estera, Jošua, Oliver, Predrag, Šimun, Tamara, Viktor (Croatia)

Jaroslava, Linda, Samuel (Czech Republic)

Ægidius, Theobaldus (Denmark)

Eha, Ehala, Hämarik, Ülar, Ülari, Ülev, Üllar, Üllart, Üllas, Üllo, Ülo (Estonia)

Aaro, Aaron, Pirkka (Finland)

Aaron, Esther, Giles, Goulwen, Jossué, Thierry (France)

Ägidius, Ruth, Verena (Germany)

Anargyros, Argyris, Antigone, Antigoni, Athena, Athina, Damianos, Kosmas, Margarita, Polynike, Polyniki, Symeon (Greece)

Annamária, Egon, Egyed, Tihamér (Hungary)

Caio, Cono, Costanzo, Egidio (Italy)

Austrums, Ilmārs, Iluta, Irisa, Imants, Ingars, Intars, Teobalds, Verena (Latvia)

Burvilė, Egidijus, Gytautas, Gytis, Julijus, Liepa, Tautrimas, Tautrimė (Lithuania)

Ask, Embla, Solveig, Solvor (Norway)

Aaron, Bogusław, Bronisław, Bronisława, Bronisz, Halina, Idzi, Klarysa, Marian, Niegosława, Teobald (Poland)

Dionisie (Romania)

Diana, Drahoslava (Slovakia)

Aarón, Arturo, Ester, Esther, Gil, Josué, Leonor, Oliverio, Simeón, Sixto (Spain)

Aron, Mirjam, Sam, Samuel (Sweden)

Debbie, Deborah, Debra, Edgar, Edgardo, Giles, Josh, Joshua, Josue, Ruth (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 244 of 2024; 121 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 35 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Geng-Shen), Day 17 (Ren-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 15 Elul 5783

Islamic: 15 Safar 1445

J Cal: 4 Aki; Foursday [4 of 30]

Julian: 19 August 2023

Moon: 96%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 20 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Dalton]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 5 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 72 of 94)

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 11 of 32)

Calendar Changes

September (Gregorian Calendar) [Month 9 of 12]

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 9.1

Holidays

American Chess Day

Arts Day (Bardo)

Back to Hogwarts Day

Bahti Meskerem (Eritrea)

Building and Code Staff Appreciation Day

Carrington Event Day

Chicken Boy Day

Childhood Cancer Awareness Day (Tennessee)

Constitution Day (Slovakia)

Creation Day

Daffodil Day (New Zealand)

Day of Knowledge (Estonia, Russia)

Disaster Prevention Day (Japan)

Draft Horse Day

Emma M. Nutt Day (a.k.a. Nutt Day)

Flag Day (Honduras)

Footy Colors Day (Australia)

Ginger Cat Appreciation Day

Global Talent Acquisition Day [1st Wednesday]

Human Resources Professional Day (South Dakota)

International Cap Classique Day

International Day of Awareness of the Dolphins of Taiji

International Naalbinding Day

International Neil Diamond Day

International Primate Day

International Trade Union Action Day for Peace

International Women in Cyber Day

Journalist Day (Taiwan)

Kama Sutra Day

Kanto Earthquake Memorial Day (Japan)

Knowledge Day (Armenia, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine)

Letter Appreciation Day

Lose Your Virginity Day

Mary Had a Little Lamb Day

Meteorological Autumn begins (Northern Hemisphere)

Meteorological Spring begins (Southern Hemisphere)

National Acne Positivity Day

National Boykin Spaniel Day

National Child Identity Theft Awareness Day

National Disaster Prevention Day (Japan)

National Forgiveness Day

National Homecare Day of Action

National Hotel Employee Day

National Little Black Dress Day

National Marmoset Day

National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day

National Police K-9 Day

901 Day (Tennessee)

No Music Day (Nigeria)

Onam (Hindu harvest festival; India)

Partridge Day (UK)

Pink Cadillac Day

Presidential Message Day (Mexico)

Random Acts of Kindness Day (NZ)

Respect the Drive Day

Revolution Day (Libya; 1969)

Rites of Moawita (Elder Scrolls)

Save Japan’s Dolphins Day

Sing A Silly Song In Bed Day

Teacher’s Day (Singapore)

Tourist Day

Toy Tips Executive Toy Test Day

Trout Day (French Republic)

Veteran’s Day (Poland)

Wattle Day (Australia)

White Rabbit Day

World CLL Day

World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

World Day of the Fingerprint

World Emotional Trauma Awareness Day

World Freestyle Football Day

World Letter Writing Day

World PCOS Day of Unity

World War Two Anniversary Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cherry Popover Day

National Burnt Ends Day

National Gyro Day

National Oatloaf Day

National Tofu Day (UK)

Oyster Season begins

1st Friday in September

Bandcamp Friday [1st Friday]

Belgian Beer Weekend begins (Belgisch Bierweekend) [1st Friday thru Sunday]

Bring Your Manners To Work Day [1st Friday]

Casual Day (South Africa) [1st Friday]

College Colors Day [Friday nearest 9.1]

Dri-jerbal (Labor Day; Marshall Islands) [1st Friday]

Freddie Mercury’s Montreux Memorial Day begins [Weekend of 1st Friday]

Labor Day Weekend (U.S. & Canada) [Begins Friday before 1st Monday in September]

Benton Neighbor Day (Benton, Missouri)

Britt Draft Horse Show (Britt, Iowa)

Bumbershoot (Seattle, Washington)

Central City Rock 'n' Roll Cruise-in & Concert (Central City, Kentucky)

Cleveland National Air Show (Cleveland, Ohio)

Clothesline Fair (Prairie Grove, Arkansas)

Colombia River Cross Channel Swim (Hood River, Oregon)

Colorado Balloon Classic (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Commonwheel Labor Day Weekend Arts and Crafts Festival (Manitou Springs, Colorado)

Daniel Boone Pioneer Days (Winchester, Kentucky)

Fort Bridger Rendezvous (Fort Bridger, Wyoming)

Great Bathtub Race (Nome, Alaska)

Great Grove Bed Race (Coconut Grove, Florida)

Harvest Wine Celebration (Livermore, California)

Hog Capital of the World Festival (Kewanee, Illinois)

Hopkinton State Fair (Contoocook, New Hampshire)

Iroquois Arts Festival (Howes Cave, New York)

Johnson City Field Days (Johnson City, New York)

Jubilee Days Festival (Zion, Illinois)

Lifelight Outdoor Music Festival (Worthing, South Dakota)

Mackinac Bridge Walk (St. Ignace, Michigan)

National Championship Chuckwagon Races (Clinton, Arkansas)

National Hard Crab Derby and Fair (Crisfield, Maryland)

National Sweetcorn Festival (Hoopeston, Illinois)

Oatmeal Festival (Bertram/Oatmeal, Texas)

Odyssey Greek Festival (Orange, Connecticut)

On the Waterfront (Rockford, Illinois)

Old Threshers Reunion (Mount Pleasant, Iowa)

Oregon Trail Rodeo (Hastings, Nebraska)

Payson Golden Onion Days (Payson, Utah)

Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts Colonial Festival (Greensburg, Pennsylvania)

Popeye Picnic (Chester, Illinois)

Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival (Independence, Missouri)

Scandinavian Fest (Budd Lake, New Jersey)

Sta-Bil Nationals Championship Lawn Mower Race (Delaware, Ohio)

Snake River Duck Race (Nome, Alaska)

Taste of Colorado (Denver, Colorado)

Taste of Madison (Madison, Wisconsin)

Totah Festival (Farmington, New Mexico)

Waikiki Roughwater Swim (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Westfest Czech Heritage Festival (West, Texas)

West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival (Clarksburg, West Virginia)

Wisconsin State Cow-Chip Throw (Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin)

Woodstock Fair (Woodstock, Connecticut)

World Championship Barbecue Goat Cook-Off (Brady, Texas)

National Chianti Day [1st Friday]

National Food Bank Day [1st Friday]

National Lazy Mom’s Day [1st Friday]

Wear Teal Day [1st Friday]

Independence Days

Alberta Province Day (Canada; 1905)

Baltia (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Chrisland (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

Gymnasium State (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Saskatchewan Province Day (Canada; 1905)

Uzbekistan (a.k.a. Mustaqillik Kuni); from USSR, 1991)

Feast Days

Constantius (Costanzo) of Aquino (Christian; Saint)

Dalton (Positivist; Saint)

David Pendleton Oakerhater (Anglican Communion)

Ecclesiastical New Year (Orthodox Christian)

Feast of Macuilxochitl (5 Flower God; Mexico)

Festival of the Grapevines I: Ariadne (Pagan)

Felix, Donatus, Arontius, Honoratus, Fortunatus, Sabinianus, Septimus, Januarius, Vitalis, Satyrus, abd Repostius, 12 brothers (Christian; Martyrs)

Festival of Juno Regina and Jupiter Liber (Ancient Rome)

Fiacre (France, Ireland; Christian; Saint) [also 8.30]

Firminus II (Christian; Saint)

Gideon the Judge (Christian; Saint)

Giles (Christian; Saint)

Hobbit Remembrance Day (Pastafarian)

Loup (a.k.a. Lupus or Lew) of Sens (Christian; Saint)

Nivard (a.k.a. Nivo; Christian; Saint)

Ramalamadingdong begins (Church of the SubGenius)

Simeon Stylite (Eastern Orthodox)

Sixtus of Reims (Christian; Saint)

Taddeo Zuccari (Artology)

Terentian (a.k.a. Terrence; Christian; Saint)

Uncle Ermisimo (Muppetism)

Verena (Christian; Saint)

Vibiana (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Historically Bad Day (Germany invaded Poland, earthquakes in Iran & Japan & 8 other tragedies) [7of 11]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

Address Unknown, by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor (Novel; 1938)

The Aleph, by Jorge Luis Borges (Short Story; 1945)

Arsenic and Old Lace (Film; 1943)

The Autograph Hound (Disney Cartoon; 1939)

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (Film; 1947)

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (Novel; 2009) [#2]

Chocolates for Breakfast, by Pamela Moore (Novel; 1956)

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, by Thomas De Quincey (Autobiography; 1821)

The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen (Novel; 2001)

Crank (Film; 2006)

Dames (Film; 1934)

Dr. Feelgood, by Mötley Crüe (Album; 1989)

Dug Days (Animated TV Series; 2021)

The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje (Novel; 1992)

Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton (Novel; 1911)

A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway (Novel; 1929)

A Farewell to Kings, by Rush (Album; 1977)

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, by Dr. Seuss (Children’s Books; 1938)

Hook, Lion and Sinker (Disney Cartoon; 1950)

Honey’s Money (WB MM Cartoon; 1962)

Idiocracy (Film; 2006)

Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1599)

Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov (Novel; 1955)

The Mass Psychology of Fascism, by Wilhelm Reich (Political Book; 1933)

Middlemarch, by George Eliot (Novel; 1871)

The Mighty Hercules (Animated TV Series; 1963)

The Old Man and the Sea (Short Story; 1952)

Outside Providence (Film; 1999)

Peculiar Penguins (Disney Cartoon; 1934)

The Plastics Inventor (Disney Cartoon; 1944)

Private Eyes, by Hall & Oates (Album; 1981)

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran (Poems; 1923)

Rear Window (Film; 1954)

A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf (Novel; 1929)

The Slap-Happy Mouse (WB MM Cartoon; 1956)

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, by John le Carré (Novel; 1963)

The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin (Novel; 1972)

Haydn String Quartets, Opus 10, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Quartets; 1785)

Swordfishtrombones, by Tom Waits (Album; 1983)

TikTok (Social Media App; 2016)

Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller (Novel; 1934) What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong (Song; 1967)

When Worlds Collide, by Philip Wylie (Novel; 1932)

The Women (Film; 1939)

Worth Dying For, 15th Jack Reacher book, by Lee Child (Novel; 2010)

You Can’t Take It with You (Film; 1938)

Today’s Name Days

Ägidius, Ruth, Verena (Austria)

Damyan, Damyana, Kozma, Kuzman, Simeon, Simona (Bulgaria)

Aron, Egidije, Estera, Jošua, Oliver, Predrag, Šimun, Tamara, Viktor (Croatia)

Jaroslava, Linda, Samuel (Czech Republic)

Ægidius, Theobaldus (Denmark)

Eha, Ehala, Hämarik, Ülar, Ülari, Ülev, Üllar, Üllart, Üllas, Üllo, Ülo (Estonia)

Aaro, Aaron, Pirkka (Finland)

Aaron, Esther, Giles, Goulwen, Jossué, Thierry (France)

Ägidius, Ruth, Verena (Germany)

Anargyros, Argyris, Antigone, Antigoni, Athena, Athina, Damianos, Kosmas, Margarita, Polynike, Polyniki, Symeon (Greece)

Annamária, Egon, Egyed, Tihamér (Hungary)

Caio, Cono, Costanzo, Egidio (Italy)

Austrums, Ilmārs, Iluta, Irisa, Imants, Ingars, Intars, Teobalds, Verena (Latvia)

Burvilė, Egidijus, Gytautas, Gytis, Julijus, Liepa, Tautrimas, Tautrimė (Lithuania)

Ask, Embla, Solveig, Solvor (Norway)

Aaron, Bogusław, Bronisław, Bronisława, Bronisz, Halina, Idzi, Klarysa, Marian, Niegosława, Teobald (Poland)

Dionisie (Romania)

Diana, Drahoslava (Slovakia)

Aarón, Arturo, Ester, Esther, Gil, Josué, Leonor, Oliverio, Simeón, Sixto (Spain)

Aron, Mirjam, Sam, Samuel (Sweden)

Debbie, Deborah, Debra, Edgar, Edgardo, Giles, Josh, Joshua, Josue, Ruth (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 244 of 2024; 121 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 35 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Geng-Shen), Day 17 (Ren-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 15 Elul 5783

Islamic: 15 Safar 1445

J Cal: 4 Aki; Foursday [4 of 30]

Julian: 19 August 2023

Moon: 96%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 20 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Dalton]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 5 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 72 of 94)

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 11 of 32)

Calendar Changes

September (Gregorian Calendar) [Month 9 of 12]

[princessanneftw]

Princess Anne having a fabulous time at the Diamond Jubilee Concert in 2012

[the-empress-7]

Middletons were in attendance in most celebrations for the diamond jubilee, including the concert outside Buckingham palace. But they were kind of low key. And yes the Middletons weren’t in the boat with her majesty but so weren’t queens other children and grandchildren. Charles decided that diamond jubilee is a perfect time for his slimming down model. He now decided another thing must be showed during this jubilee. While he was ready to keep monarchs other children away, he is not ready now to keep his “other” child away.

Those last three lines of what anon said 🔥🔥🔥

[hunflowers]

The Final Act

Word Count: 12.1k

A/N: hiiiiiiiii long time no see i knowwww but don’t worry i had faith in finishing this story so here we are now. i don’t have much else to say except if you like this story, if you like me, if you like giving feedback, do let me know because i am always curious.

WARNING: mention of sexual assault. sorry i know more pain to endure after every thing we already went through :/

*extra nose boops*

The start of 1976 kicked off a well-deserved fresh start for Giulia Stone. Beginning with her very first trip to the Oscars.

The Dreamers decided to take a few months off and separate before diving into their next project.

Giulia: God, that feels like yesterday. I don’t often look back on my past with fondness, but that night was one of those nights I’ll… I don’t think it’s possible for me to forget that night. 

I felt like a true princess. I wore the most beautiful periwinkle dress by Valentino and if you could believe, I had the honor of wearing the Jubilee Diamond. I mean, come on, right? Complete princess.

Anna: I was at home eagerly watching the Oscars for the first time in my life because Giulia was there. I thought Midnight was an incredible movie and if anyone deserved to win, it was Giulia. I saw it as a beacon of hope for her, y’know?

Harry: She was so happy to even be there. I don’t think she cared all that much about winning, it just felt nice to finally be seen as more than just a pretty face.

And then the best actress category was up. She kept a smile on her face but her hand was squeezing mine so incredibly hard.

Giulia: It’s a nerve-racking environment and I was probably the only one sober there which didn’t make it much easier on me. But then I thought to all of my progress and my future and knew this couldn’t be the event to break me. If I let a simple award corrupt me, what does that really say about me?

Anna: She won. “And the Oscar goes to… Giulia Stone, Midnight.” Connor and I were cheering like we were at a concert.

Harry: Tears were spilling down her face as soon as her name was called. I’m pretty sure I cried too, I don’t really remember.

Giulia: I didn’t think I was… exactly worthy of that award. But, to this day I’m still so grateful, as anyone would be.

After that I took a break from work. I was scared at first about what the media would say but then I realized I didn’t give a shit anymore. I was happy and I wasn’t tired and I was in love. All good things were headed my way and it felt so good.

Vince: I know she told me to take a vacation of my own and not worry about her for a little while, but I still kept an ear out for her in case I caught wind of a role she would really enjoy.

As for the Dreamers, they weren’t too happy when their enemy, the Waves, had won their first ever Grammy award that same year. Ned Blithe and Gordy Berkshire decided there needed to be a change if the Dreamers ever wanted an award of that prestige themselves.

Before we go on, it’s necessary for me to include that over the course of my interviews and research, we unfortunately lost Gordy Berkshire due to natural causes. Though his perspective would have added more to this part of the story, enough has been gathered to understand where the truth lies.

Ned: Gordy and I had been coworkers for such a long time, it’s weird thinking back on that time now with him not here. We only spoke just last week [long pause]. Okay, sorry, where were we?

John Vancamp (producer): Right well, I guess let’s get into it. I’m not a Grammy-winning producer for nothing. I wasn’t labeled one of the best producers at the time for nothing. I know how to make music and I’m part of the reason the Waves got that first Grammy, okay?

I’ve known Gordy for a long time and he asked me to check these guys out and see if I can help them out where they struggle most. I wasn’t there to fix them, I was there to help. I’ve heard their songs and they were good, but they could do better – that’s a lesson for you, there’s always room for improvement, no matter how good you think you are.

Ned: They were in a bit of a funk, writing wise for a while. When they were on tour they decided to focus just on the tour with no stress of a new album, which I totally agreed with. But the tour was over and they needed to move on to something new; they just couldn’t find that groove when they got back to work.

Niall: All I knew was that I wanted a Grammy. I think it was hard being around for what, five, six years, with two hit albums and absolutely no recognition from the academy.

SP: The Waves were the most popular band, but we nearly matched them in numbers, and if we’re bringing things into perspective, who do you hear more on the radio as of recently, the Dreamers or the Waves? Fucking us.

Harry: People only liked us for the headlines. We were probably the most controversial band at the time. We had good music but if you’ve got a bad reputation people don’t want to be associated, like the Grammys. 

Which is bloody bullshit because that really affected us – both as a band and individually. Then John Vancamp walked into the studio one day and we all knew things were gonna change.

John: I admired how they worked together, truly. It was homely and they all had such genuine relationships with one another, this wasn’t just a business thing. I felt bad coming in there and ruining the atmosphere and bringing this business mindset, but they needed that.

Music is about doing what you love, but when you’re famous and you have fans and you have important people throwing money your way, you have to think with, well, with money and awards on the mind.

Opal: I never liked John. The guys loved him because he was, “A sign from the gods above,” according to SP, but he had greasy long hair, rotten breath from the thousands of cigarettes he smoked, and an overall bad attitude. Woman’s intuition or maybe just the fact that I never cared about money or a stupid Grammy, I knew he was bad news.

Niall: I had a good feeling about him.

Harry: John came up to me one of the first days asking where my head is at because I didn’t seem like I cared all that much about writing this next album. And if I’m completely honest, my head was elsewhere. 

July 1976, Harry and Giulia take the plunge and move in with one another - or rather, Harry has officially moved into Giulia’s new Malibu home that she bought earlier in the year.

Giulia: I bought this house, right, and it was beautiful and I fell in love and it felt like the perfect start to a new beginning – to a new me. But it was too big for just me. I adopted a dog, a dalmatian and yes, I named him Pongo; but it was still too big.

Harry: We were in bed one night and I was almost asleep. I felt her in my arms, stroking my hair, my face, and I could feel her just… staring at me deep in thought. I asked her, “Is something wrong?”

She said, without even a second thought, “Move in with me.”

I wasn’t gonna fall asleep after that. I opened my eyes and sat up on my elbow. I couldn’t tell if she was serious or not. Her hair was all messy and her face was still flushed from, well, I’m sure you could guess, and I found it quite difficult to tell if she was serious. But that look in her eyes, the way she was looking at me, holding on to me, I knew she was serious.

I was shocked when she asked me I mean… we’d only been dating for seven months, it felt a little fast. I told her I needed to think about it.

Opal: We didn’t see Harry for a few days. He told us he was “sick” and didn’t want any of us catching whatever he had. For as long as I’ve known that man, I’ve known that if he was bleeding out, he wouldn’t miss a day of work. That's how much he loved it.

Gemma: Harry called me up one day and he sounded like he was panicking. I tried to get a word in but he was rambling about nothing that made any sort of sense to me. When I finally heard him take a breath I butted in.

I asked him, “Harry, what is going with you?”

And he said, “Giulia asked me to move in with her.”

I know he was scared about it being too fast but I saw it as a good thing for him. He bounced around hotels and renting apartments every couple of months or so and I didn’t think that was necessarily healthy for him. Plus if he’s as crazy for her as he says he is then it really was only a matter of time until they moved in together.

Harry: Everyone I asked said yes, I should do it. And when I thought about it, really thought about it, I thought what could be so bad? The band and I record close to her house so the commute wouldn’t be so bad, plus I loved Malibu. The beach was right in her backyard and the sunsets were always so mesmerizing. I could picture us every night sitting on the back patio watching the sun blend into the ocean.

I wrote ‘Malibu Sun’ about those daydreams of mine. Beautiful song for a beautiful moment.

Giulia: I was nervous after I asked Harry. He kind of distanced himself from me for about a week and I had no idea if he ran off for good [laughs]. I felt like I did something wrong.

Harry: I was wrong for keeping her in the dark like that and not talking to her.

Giulia: But then he came over and he said, “Okay, let’s do it.” Four days later he was officially moved in.

SP: H was so happy he looked high all of the time. I realized I wanted happiness like that.

Niall: For some reason it all felt like it was coming together – like we were headed in a good direction.

John: Every song we made turned into something fantastic that when it came down to the best twelve songs for the next album it was going to be really difficult to choose.

Opal: He was so full of himself. John thought everything we created was good because he was there not because we were good musicians. He was a sexist piece of shit that thought I was an assistant at first.

Niall: John helped out a lot. Really gave us a lot to work with to beat the Waves.

Ned: By the end of that year, they released a single from the new album; despite being nowhere near done with the album. But they wanted to give everyone a little taste of what they’ve been working on.

‘One Night’ hit number one overnight.

Giulia: I made dinner for everyone the night after their release which slowly turned into a house party. Of course everyone was drinking and doing some type of drug while I stayed sober, but I didn’t mind. I thought I would if I were in crowds and around drugs a lot but I didn’t. I liked being sober, it kept me in touch with who I really am.

I used this analogy a lot when in therapy, but for those dark years of my life I felt like I was in this deep hole, the surface miles away getting smaller and smaller with every next step I took. I thought that if I got high and or drunk I would be able to float my way out of the hole and into the light and be happy again but instead every time I got high and or drunk I just went further down. I thought it would be impossible getting out and I had no hope that I ever would. I felt trapped and I knew one day soon it was going to close in around me and I’d never be free.

But I realized drugs weren’t the answer and the only way for me to get out was to climb. It wasn’t an overnight process and I fell back down a few times but eventually I made it out, and that was when I had left rehab. It was a dark and lonely place and I never wanted to go back, so I stayed true to myself and stayed sober because it was for the best no matter how tempting it was. And that’s the thing, I may have been out of the hole, but that didn’t mean I was far past it – it was next to me at all times and one wrong step I would fall back in.

I reminded myself happiness isn’t found in the euphoric feeling of the rush to the brain but rather the moment in which we live. I lived in the moment and I celebrated their song and I laughed and I smiled and I was happy.

Harry: John thought she was pregnant because she wasn’t drinking. Instead of ridiculing him for not knowing her situation or being upset about it, Giulia smiled and said, “I don’t need to drink to have a good time.” I thought she was being passive aggressive at first but then she squeezed my hand and went to get another bottle of vodka after SP finished the second. I could tell she was genuinely having a good time despite the drunk people in our house making a bloody wreck of the place.

SP: I met Del that night. Delilah Albright, the woman of my dreams.

Opal: I kissed a woman for the first time that night. I’m not even sure I remember how it really happened but I remember her lips. She tasted like peppermint.

Giulia: It was a good night. I paid the cleaning ladies extra the next day.

Niall: John, Harry, Mitch and I came to a conclusion on eight out of the twelve songs for the album. Opal was pissed we decided without her but maybe if she wasn’t so busy getting in whatever orgy she was partaking in she could’ve voiced her opinion.

Opal: I never understood why they thought I was in some orgy at Giulia and Harry’s house. I kissed one woman, who was the first person I kissed in a while. No orgy. God, I hate that word.

Giulia: For the remainder of ‘76 and the majority of ‘77, I don’t think I was ever unhappy. It’s weird because you never really understand how depressed you were until you see yourself extremely happy. It was like I was a new person with just how different my emotional stability was and how my personality had shifted.

I got back into surfing and I also joined a beach volleyball league for about a year over at Manhattan Beach and just had fun and met some pretty great people.

And while I was out the band would be at my house writing or whatever if they weren’t over at the studio. I loved watching them work and create the magic but sometimes it could get a little boring and I also just didn’t want to be around John often.

Opal: Woman’s intuition. I saw the way Giulia would look at him when he wasn’t looking. He had the audacity to tell her to get some lunch while he was a visitor in her house. If I was Giulia, I would’ve kicked his sorry ass out.

John: Giulia and I got along pretty well in the beginning. And if I’m being completely honest, I have a feeling if she weren’t with Harry she would try to get with me. I saw the way she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t aware.

Giulia: I think it was around September of ‘77 when I called Jessica and Vince. I was ready to get back to work. I hoped I could come back with a bang after ending on such a high the previous year.

Jessica: I was so happy to hear her voice. We of course kept in touch while she was on her hiatus but hearing her say she wanted to get back to work and that she had a good work-life balance was good. I felt proud. She transformed into her butterfly era of life and it was truly beautiful.

Vince: I didn’t know how comfortable she was with traveling too far, so I sent her the script of a movie I knew would be shooting locally. Sand Dollar Summer was perfect for her.

Giulia: I never thought I really fit into the whole “Cali-Girl” stereotype but I guess I kinda did because of my obsession with the beach [laughs]. I just wasn’t blonde.

Harry: After spending nearly every day with her, I missed her when she went back to work. I became such a sap [laughs] but that’s alright, it felt good being in love with her.

John told me I should try and write some songs that weren’t about Giulia but it was so hard when she was all I thought about or all I felt. I did try though. It just so happened that none I wrote were as good.

I took a backseat on the writing process for a while. He didn’t like the songs I was writing so I figured I’d let the rest of the band take the wheel. Normally I did most of the lyrics and they worked on their individual parts but I don’t know, I wanted to see if they had anything better that would fit John’s standards.

Niall wrote ‘Temporary Fix’ sometime within that space and turns out John really loved it. I think because it focused more on sex rather than love.

Niall: I’m quite proud of that song.

John: Every song Harry wrote was good, but I just felt fans didn’t connect with love like they connected with sex or freedom or just a good party – I mean it was the 70s, that was mainly what was going on.

Giulia: Harry told me about what John said to him one day about all of his love songs and I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. So, I helped him come up with the idea of ‘Watermelon Sugar’. [laughs] I’m sure you know what it’s about.

Harry: John loved ‘Watermelon Sugar’. It was one of the first songs we finished for the album.

Opal: The third album was a good gateway into writing for me. I got into poetry from writing lyrics. I never submitted them or published them but I’d say I wrote some good ones at the time. Both lyrics and poems.

It was interesting how John always thought my songs weren’t good enough. “They don’t really pack a punch, Opal,” he would say all of the damn time. One time I asked Mitch if he could tell John he wrote a song that I actually wrote and guess what, John said he loved it. It didn’t make the album but it was good.

Sexist piece of shit.

Harry: When she went back to work a big realization had hit me.

Anna: One night while Giulia was out filming, Harry came over unexpectedly.

Connor: Harry asked if I could take him to our parents house, had something he needed to talk to them about and that Anna and I also had to be there.

Harry: It was a pretty rash decision on my part but I didn’t really see a point in waiting any longer. We were together for a little over a year at that point but I felt like it’d been much longer.

Anna: He wanted their blessing to marry Giulia. It was genuinely the sweetest encounter I’d ever witnessed. I could tell he was so nervous but her parents absolutely adored him ever since they first met him back in New York all those years ago.

I guess he planned they would say yes because he already bought a ring and everything. I was stunned when I first saw it. A beautiful princess cut diamond with a ruby on either side on a gold band. It was the perfect ring for her.

Harry: My only concern was how to do it – how to propose to her. She deserved an extravagant scene but I knew she wouldn’t want a huge crowd around her; but I also knew she didn’t want a mundane setting like in our living room.

Anna: I suggested where they first met or their first date or when he figured out he loved her.

Harry: I thought that was perfect. So, when she finished filming I told her I wanted to spend time with my family because we were with hers for the holidays. She agreed without thinking twice.

When she was busy having a girls day with my mum and sister, I went to the bar I spent my twenty-fifth birthday in – the night we shared our first kiss, and paid him to keep it closed for the night so I could be in private with her. It took a bit of convincing but it was also a Wednesday so it’s not like it was going to be one of his busy nights.

My friends were teasing us the whole night and saying I was whipped and shit and I didn’t admit it but I definitely was. That was the night I fully accepted my feelings.

Giulia: I thought he was acting really suspicious the whole time we were there. I had no idea what was going on.

Harry: I told her I had a date night planned for us and that I was doing my best to not tell her. Not the best liar in the world but she bought it. And I mean, technically I wasn’t lying I just didn’t include the bit about proposing.

She looked absolutely stunning that night. She was wearing a blue plaid dress with a black turtleneck underneath and black tights. I mean, she made any outfit appear stunning.

Giulia: I really only saw Harry dress up for tour. But he surprised me with his look that night: A houndstooth suit with a black shirt underneath. I loved that suit on him.

Harry: When I pulled up in front of the bar she started freaking out. Not physically but I could see her fighting whatever was going on inside her mind.

Giulia: I had no idea why he was taking me to a bar. Initially I started to panic but then I just let myself breathe and thought I’m never going to be able to move on with my life if I fear alcohol or being in a room with it. Anyone could be in a room with it and not drink, and I was destined to be that person.

Harry: I set up an entire dinner with candles and roses and everything. I wanted to make it perfect for her.

Giulia: He poured us some soda in wine glasses so it could at least seem like we were drinking wine. I let him know time and time again it’s okay if he wants to drink, which I said again that night but he said he wanted to be sober for the plans he had.

It was awfully romantic though.

Harry: I was near shitting bricks after we finished eating. I had to just come out and say it but my mouth didn’t know how to.

Giulia: He started with, “This is where I fell in love with you. On my birthday. What a gift that was.”

Harry: I said, “I think I loved you before that night but that was when I really came to term with my feelings. Right over by the dart board where you absolutely annihilated me.”

She laughed at that and asked if I wanted a rematch.

Giulia: He said, “Not tonight. We’re gonna have plenty of years for rematches.”

The gears started turning in my head trying to understand what he meant but then my question was answered when he pulled a little box out from his inside jacket pocket and got up off his chair then knelt down on the floor.

Harry: I said, “I know normally people have this big speech planned and I did but I’ll be honest I forgot everything I was going to say. So, I’m just gonna say this: I love you, Giulia Stone. I don’t know if this is considered too fast, but I have every intention of spending the rest of my life with you so I figured I might as well get this out of the way sooner rather than later. Let’s spend the rest of forever together. Will you marry me?”

Giulia: The rest of forever sounded really good. Of course I said yes.

Word of the star-studded couple’s engagement spread like wildfire. Every news outlet wanted an exclusive interview but the couple kept their relationship underwraps. When Harry and Giulia were finally ready, they agreed to a couples photoshoot, posing for the February, 1978 issue of American Vogue.

Giulia: That cover photo is one of my favorite photos of us ever. I have the first printing framed downstairs.

Harry: I didn’t want to do the photoshoot at all at first. I’m not anyone without my band, y’know. I’m not a celebrity without them, I’m part of a group, and this felt a lot like the media was trying to separate me from them and making me out to be this hot-shot guy who got the chick.

But Ned said I should do it. He said to me once, “This will be your and Giulia’s chance to be on the cover of a magazine because you want to be; not because people are trying to dig up Hollywood drama.” That made me feel better about all of it.

It was a really good photo.

Niall: They shared the news when they got back from vacation. They were so in love it was gross. But it was also nice.

SP: I don’t even wanna know the pretty penny he spent on that ring of hers.

Opal: She was glowing. Like that pregnancy glow women get but she wasn’t pregnant, she was just really happy. I couldn’t blame her, she deserved the world after everything.

Giulia: John was there when we told the band and I swear he looked disgusted with the news but I didn’t want to even bother with him. I honestly did not care at all what he thought about our engagement.

Jessica: By this point, Giulia wasn’t the so-called “Princess of Hollywood” anymore because of her lack of appearances but after that Vogue issue dropped, the world fell right back in love with her and inevitably her and Harry.

They were no longer this raunchy hook-up story but now the “It” couple.

Ned: People were anticipating the next album. Was it gonna be all lovey-dovey because of the newfound news or were they gonna stick to their old sounds? The pressure was on.

They already felt pressure but it was truly coming down on them now.

Niall: We would be in the studio all day and then when we were hungry and in need of time away, we would go to Harry and Giulia’s. For a few months, their house felt like our house as well.

Opal: Most nights, writing didn’t even happen. We would be so fried from working all day that we would have no energy left to think of anything else.

Giulia: John pushed them a lot. He was so persistent they work, work, work. Once, I told him to ease up because they weren’t gonna think of anything if their brains were overtired. They were jacked up on coffee, soda, candy, anything sugary and caffeinated that would keep them up.

He told me, “This is the life they chose. If they want a shot at being remembered for good music then they have to make the good music, Darling.”

Giulia: I said, “First of all, never call me that. Second, if you want them to make good music, then they need to fucking sleep. You can get out of my house, you’ll see them tomorrow.”

John: Giulia was so weird. I think she liked when I called her pet names. Maybe Harry didn’t show her that kind of affection, I don’t know.

Giulia: Low and behold, the next day it was only Harry that came home and he told me they made progress on a new song. I don’t know how John was considered good at his job if this is how he worked with musicians.

Harry: I never saw it as him being hard to work with but rather him knowing when to stop, when it was time to call it quits for a day. Now that I think about it, we never stopped until he said so.

Giulia: This was the routine for a while. We hardly even had time to have sex, that’s how much he was working. I’m a woman, I have needs, and I wanted my fiancé there to fulfill them.

Harry: I kept telling her it’ll be done soon, we’re gonna finish it soon, but soon kept pushing further and further away. We didn’t want to rush it because we wanted to do it right and finish it when we thought it was fully ready but after a while it was getting really hard to do better like everyone wanted.

Opal: One night, like any other night, we were all over their house eating dinner together. Ned came over for a little while to talk about some things but he didn’t stay long.

Niall: Normally we’d try to let loose a little and drink a bit or smoke a bit, but none of us were really in the mood. The only one who was drinking was John.

SP: He brought two six-packs and nearly drank them all by himself. I told Delilah to come over because I hadn’t seen her for a week and even she was a little weirded out by how much he drank.

Giulia: Delilah was a sweet girl, not at all who you’d expect SP to date. But I don’t know if it was me or the band or John, but she left around ten o’clock.

SP: I was gonna go with her but John told me I couldn’t leave because I still needed to think of a part for a song called ‘Remember This’. I hadn’t bothered to think of a part because I hated that song.

Del almost broke up with me because I didn’t go with her. John was starting to piss me off.

Giulia: As much as I liked watching them work, I couldn’t do it anymore. Not with John acting like some dictator or them looking completely miserable.

Harry: Giulia kissed me goodnight and went upstairs. I wanted to go to sleep as well, but no matter how many times we told John we were done for the night he wouldn’t quit.

Giulia: It was around one in the morning when I decided I was gonna head upstairs to sleep. They were free to continue but I had a headache and with the long day I had the next day I knew I should get some shut eye. 

So I go upstairs and get changed and take an aspirin before getting into bed. I didn’t know what time it was but I still heard them all downstairs laughing and everything. Eventually I heard the bedroom door open and of course I assumed it was Harry because who else would come into our room? I didn't think much of it so I didn't open my eyes and then I felt the bed dip on my side and a hand resting on my leg. Even through a comforter I know Harry’s hands and that wasn’t his.

I jump up and there’s John fucking Vancamp looking me dead in the eyes, a smirk on his face.

I said, “What the fuck are you doing?”

He said, “Don’t act coy. I know you wanted me up here.”

Like fuck I did. He was insane, I knew that much, but I didn’t think he was this bad. I moved away from him but he crawled onto the bed and followed me.

My stomach started churning. I said, “You’re drunk and delusional. Get the fuck out of my room.”

Men don’t scare me. I dealt with the Devil, so John was nothing in comparison. I’m sure I could beat him fucking bloody. But in that moment, I felt so vulnerable and horrified of what could possibly happen. He didn’t say anything back, he just kept smirking at me.

I was so close to getting off the bed when he grabbed my leg and pulled me closer to him. He got on top of me and immediately I could smell the alcohol and cigarettes in his rotten mouth.

I’ll never forget the way he whispered in my ear, “Keep resisting. I love a woman who can put up a good fight.”

John: I’ve heard the story she likes to tell people about me and I’ll tell you right now, she’s a fucking liar. Nearly ruined my career over something that didn’t happen.

Giulia: I started screaming for Harry but John put his sweaty hand over my mouth. I could taste the salt from his skin. I just gagged at the thought.

Anyway I felt his… y’know on the inside of my thigh – and oh my god he was so hard from this. I had to get away. So I bit his hand and when he started groaning in pain I brought my knee up as hard as I could and nailed him right in the balls. I pushed him off of me and he still had the audacity to try and keep a hold on me. I ran out of there.

Harry: SP was in the middle of creating a rhythm and drum pattern with a fork and knife when we heard Giulia running down the stairs. She was moving so fast she nearly fell down the stairs.

Opal: I knew right away what happened. She was crying and looking behind her like she was scared someone was following her. John went to the “bathroom” ten minutes ago and he still wasn’t back. Even Pongo sensed something was wrong and started barking like crazy while trying to also comfort Giulia.

SP: We just thought he had a major case of the runs. And by this point, I’m sure you know I don’t try to take things too seriously and that’s why I feel some guilt for that night because I made a joke about him in the bathroom when in reality he was doing… he was hurting Giulia.

Harry was gonna go check up on him to see if he passed out or something because of how much he had to drink and I told him not to worry. I made a fucking joke.

Niall: Her tank top was twisted on her torso and her face was all red and I’m pretty sure she was hyperventilating. Harry had to take her outside to try and get her to calm down.

Opal: John came into the room two minutes later. He fixed the fly of his jeans and when he saw us all in shock he feigned confusion asking, “What’s going on? I heard yelling.”

I went right up to him and spat his face.

Niall: We had no idea what was going on but it seemed like Opal did. After that night she said she never wanted to be in a room with him again; Not that anyone could blame her.

Harry: Giulia cried in my arms for a while. I didn’t question her, I just held her. I didn’t know what to think. I wanted to hurt him but… God it sounds so awful when I say it out loud but we were so close to finishing our album. After the album I didn’t care whether or not the guy dropped dead but I just wanted to finish this one.

Nothing ever came easy for us.

Giulia: I didn’t know how to tell Harry the guy he looked up to and admired just tried to put his hand down my pants and kissed my neck where he usually did. I felt gross and that hole was right beneath my feet again. The only thing keeping me afloat was the fact that Harry was holding me.

Otherwise I probably would’ve downed the bottle of wine sitting on the table.

Harry: I could see into the house through the sliding back door and I could see him still in there but no one was talking.

I felt her start to relax in my arms so very gently I asked her what had happened. She lifted her head from my chest and I could tell she didn’t want me to let go; So I didn’t.

She said he assaulted her in our room. He didn’t get very far but that didn’t matter to me. What mattered is that the prick thought he could do that to her and get away with it. He seriously thought she wanted to fuck him and not only that but with me downstairs? Where everyone would probably hear it?

I figured something along the lines of what happened as soon as she came downstairs and he wasn’t anywhere in sight, but hearing her say it… I can’t describe the anger I felt.

Giulia: Harry stiffened and his jaw clenched so hard I thought he was gonna break some teeth. I had to hold him down so he wouldn’t storm in there and kill the guy even if I did want him dead.

This really messed with everything. I was doing so good and everything was going so well and then John fucking Vancamp had to ruin it all. But… I didn’t want him to ruin everything. It’s hard to explain but I knew this album they were working on was going to be really special and as much as I hate even thinking about him, he’s part of the reason. They had to finish the album with him. And yeah there were other producers just as good as John but he did have a big name and it would really be a dig right at the Waves if the Dreamers also won a Grammy with his help.

My only condition was that he never step foot near me again. Not in my house, not fifty yards from me, I didn’t want to see him ever again.

Harry: Giulia told me all of this about being okay with us still working with him and I didn’t really quite understand how she could’ve come to that decision in such a short time span.

Opal: A little while later Harry came back inside and asked if I could sit with Giulia. I nearly ran outside and took Pongo with me. I didn’t even care anymore about what was going on inside.

At first I had no idea where she was. I couldn’t see her for shit but then I saw her out by the water. The beach really was her place. It’s weird, normally people are one way or the other, like a city person or a rural person but of course Giulia was more than that. She could be anyone wherever she was and it was admirable.

Niall: It was tense in the house while Harry and Giulia were outside but I felt like I was suffocating when Harry walked in.

He went over to John who was sitting on an armchair and picked him up by the collar of his shirt. I’ve seen Harry mad but he looked about ready to kill John. Not that I blamed him.

SP: Harry was seething. When he spoke, his spit was hitting John in the face.

He said, “You’re lucky she asked me not to kill you, you fucking prick. Go anywhere near her again and I’ll personally chop your dick off, got it?”

Niall, Mitch and I had to separate them.

Harry: He looked like he was enjoying all of this.

Niall: John said, “H, you’ve got it all wrong. I went to the bathroom and when I came out Giulia was standing there waiting for me. She made a move on me and I guess she got a little upset that I rejected her. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Harry: First of all, of course I was going to believe Giulia over him. Never would I have believed such a horrible lie like that one. How many times do men use that excuse for their actions?

After everything she and I had been through I knew she wouldn’t cheat on me. She didn’t cheat on that asshole ex of hers but she was gonna cheat on me? Give me a break. We were in a great place thinking about our fucking wedding. He sure had the balls to outright lie like that.

I said, “We’re gonna finish the album, we’re gonna get that Grammy, and then I never want to see your pathetic face ever again.”

Opal: When Giulia told me the plan moving forward I thought she was bloody insane. I told her she should go to the police. She laughed and said, “And then have John pay them off? It’s not gonna do anyone any good if I go to the police because we both know it’ll be the headline on every paper and tabloid tomorrow and I’ll be named the villain.”

What a great fucking world we live in.

SP: Shit was Harry a strong lad. He ripped his arm out of my hands to step closer to John again.

He said, “Did you really think Giulia would want to get it on with the likes of you?”

John replied, “I told you, she made a pass on me, okay? I mean, come on, man, women like her are labeled whores for a reason.”

Niall: Without missing a beat, Harry lunged for John. By all means I’m not the strongest man but I sure felt like it while trying to hold him back along with SP and Mitch.

Harry: I was seeing red. I didn't even know I almost punched him until I heard one of the guys tell me to calm down. I couldn’t exactly get calm after what he said though.

I said, “Get the fuck out of my house before I throw you out.” He threw his hands up in defense but casually walked out. I could tell he was scared of me but not to the point where he felt threatened and had to leave if that makes sense.

Giulia: It was a while until Harry came back outside and told me he had left. I felt relieved he was gone but I felt myself spiraling. I couldn’t go back to my room and go to sleep, how could I? I barely wanted to go back inside that house at all.

Fuck, men really knew how to ruin everything. It was my goddamned house and I couldn’t step inside.

I asked Opal if I could stay at her place for the night. She said, “Of course, whatever you need.”

I wasn’t running from Harry, I just wanted to get some sleep.

Harry: Giulia asked me to pack her some clothes and her toothbrush and such so she didn’t have to go back inside. All I wanted was to protect her and care for her after everything she’d been through and then this happened under the same room as me.

I felt like I had failed her [pauses] When I proposed to her, I told her I’m not gonna let anything bad happen to you ever again and I, well, didn’t keep up on my promise. This was my fault.

Niall: It felt weird leaving Harry alone after that after seeing Giulia leave with Opal. The guys and I decided to stay. We were never the best at comforting one another or sharing our emotions but I’m sure being alone after all that just happened wouldn’t be ideal, so we stuck around.

We played rock, paper, scissors to see who would get the couch while the other two got the spare rooms. SP lost.

Harry: When I walked into our room I immediately saw the messed up bed which looked like there had been a struggle and… I broke down. I wanted to finish the album like everyone else but at what cost? I didn’t sleep at all that night.

It took everything in me to show up to work the next day without punching him.

Giulia: I thought maybe I could sleep if I wasn’t anywhere near my house but turns out whenever I shut my eyes, those beady little eyes and that god awful smirk were all I could see.

Opal: I didn’t want to go to work the next day. I thought she shouldn’t be alone but she insisted I make the most of this awful situation and win that Grammy.

There it was again, that dumb award. All of this happened because of a stupid award and I was supposed to be okay with it.

Niall: John bought coffee and donuts the next day.

John: I thought it would cheer them up to get a little sugar and caffeine in their bodies. We had a long day ahead of us. I needed them to stay awake after the long night we had.

Opal: Harry and I kept our distance mostly and only spoke to John if we had to. The rest of the guys tried to ease the tension but I could tell even they were wary about interacting with him.

Niall: We had written a fair amount of songs for this album and pretty much had ten out of twelve completely done. We were so close but we still had that key element missing. That little something that would really pave the way for us, sound wise.

Giulia: From previous experience of never sleeping, I needed a distraction that wasn’t drugs. I tried to stick with my routine of going to volleyball and surfing every day to ease the tension in my body and visited Dr. Baros a bit more frequently again but nothing was working.

My life had been flipped upside down again so there was only one other situation that could distract me and that was work. I auditioned for three movies before that night and eventually I got one of the roles, so I took the opportunity and flew away from California and back to New York.

I wasn’t running from Harry in fact I wish he could’ve come with me.

Harry: She had to go through her process and I understood that. I preferred her working over getting hammered and ending up dead in some alley. She called me every day and slowly I could pretty much hear how much better she was doing after getting away for a little while.

Giulia: I think I was gone for about two months and although New York wasn’t a safe place for me anymore, it did feel refreshing compared to California. I wasn’t supposed to be home for another week but I finished earlier than expected so I thought maybe I would surprise Harry before leaving in a few weeks for England.

I didn’t want to move out of my home because of John and it was really only the master bedroom that I couldn’t stand in for more than two seconds, so the solution I came up with was redoing it. Painting it, getting a new bedspread, changing the floors, the whole works. I associated that old version of the room with the assault, so I thought if I changed the room, it would help me leave it in the past and not bother me anymore.

When I got home, I don’t know why I did it, but I decided to try just one more time to look at my room without freaking out. Well, I stepped into our bedroom and immediately it sent that night back into my mind. The feel of his weight on me, his hair falling over my face, his disgusting words, all of it. I refused to let this get to me but I couldn’t help it.

I slammed the door shut behind me and ran back downstairs to try and get as far away as possible. It just so happened that I ran into the kitchen and ended up next to our liquor cabinet. I think my body was ahead of my mind and pushed me to be near that cabinet.

I wanted nothing more than to drown my sorrows, if I’m being honest.

Harry: They wanted to get dinner but I had this voice in my head telling me to get home.

Giulia: I opened the cabinet and pulled out the Absolut. I set it down on the island counter and got myself a glass.

Harry: It was still fairly early in the day, only about five, so they said we could go to mine and get some drinks then go eat and go to some bars or wherever the night took us. I was tempted to go because it had been a while since I really went to a bar or party, but I needed to get home first.

I pulled into the driveway and saw Giulia’s car. My heart suddenly dropped because she wasn’t supposed to be home.

Giulia: I was shaking. I had no idea Harry was going to be home so early or that the band would be with him. I could hear them outside laughing, completely oblivious to the fact that I was inside, losing my damn mind. I was staring at that bottle of vodka like it was Jesus himself. My savior, my knight in shining armor, my true happiness.

I heard the front door open and it took everything in me to not hide with the bottle, just so I could escape the embarrassment of being vulnerable and slipping. I was sure I wasn’t going to be able to hold my composure the moment they saw me, but then their footsteps sounded louder as they approached the kitchen and I knew there was no turning back. I poured myself a glass.

Harry: The kitchen lights were the only ones on when I walked inside. I called out and expected an answer so when I didn’t get one I got a little nervous. But then I cautiously rounded the corner and saw her sitting on the floor with a glass in her hand and an open bottle of vodka on the island. She was stiff and completely emotionless just staring at the liquid. Giulia: I felt completely stuck in my own brain. I barely acknowledged that Harry was in the room with me.

Harry: The guys started to waltz in but I told them to go to a different room. Opal asked me what was wrong but I didn’t really have time to answer her because it was really only a matter of seconds until Giulia sipped that drink if she didn’t already.

She didn’t seem like she was really herself, so I knew I had to be there for her and help her… overcome this and not drink. I know how hard she worked to get to this point of sobriety and she’d hate herself for giving it up and looking weak.

I knelt down next to her and called her name again. I think she heard me but she didn’t look at me. I said, “Baby, what’s going on in that head of yours?” That’s when she started crying. She was silently crying, like when a child gets hurt and their jaw drops open but they’re not making a sound – that’s what she was doing. She almost dropped the glass on the floor but I caught it before it could shatter.

Her knees came up to her chest and she was visibly shaking. I’ve never been great at knowing what to do in a situation like this, like if you hold them close or give them their space but I felt like she just really needed me.

I fully sat down next to her and pulled her in my arms. Her body fell into mine, her head on my chest while her fingers held a tight grip on my shirt. All I could think was, when is Giulia Stone going to catch a fucking break.

Giulia: The sun started to set by the time we got up off that floor. I could feel my stomach growling but I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything in fear of not being able to keep it down. I knew the band was still in the house so when I finally could get up and walk away from that open bottle - which by the way I could smell the entire time I was crying - I told Harry to be with them. I needed to be alone.

He was quick to grab the bottle and glass I poured and get rid of it. I went outside to the back porch, sitting myself down on the couch that perfectly overlooked the beach and the water. I couldn’t help but think back to my childhood and being on the beach all day, only worried about how good my serve was for the upcoming match. I sat on that couch wondering where I would be if I just stuck to volleyball.

I sat wondering where we went wrong… Where I went wrong. Did I only deserve the bad? Was there something wrong with me? I thought I was covering all of these points in therapy yet the bad shit keeps happening so maybe there’s something legitimately wrong with me. I didn’t know what to think anymore.

Harry: I left her alone for a while because it was clear she didn’t want to talk otherwise she would have already. I sat inside, watching her, waiting for her. I didn’t listen to anything Niall or Mitch pitched for the album.

Opal: I thought Harry was crazy for not being outside with her.

Giulia: Sitting there, watching the ocean crash onto the sand and the sun slowly setting, I did a lot of thinking. What makes me happy? And a lot of things came to mind but the first thing that popped into my head was, well, Harry. He makes me the most happy. But I’m not currently happy so how do I fix this? I realized the way to fix this was to separate myself from him. It sounds bad but I said I was okay with Harry seeing John everyday for work but I really wasn’t deep down. It felt like John was winning because he still had a job and he still was around my  fiancé and friends. He wasn’t suffering like I was. And then Harry would come home and he’d say it was a good day at work and that he truly felt something with this album, the album John helped create. When we spoke on the phone I could hear him in the background, laughing.

Imagine John as this black smoke. Everyday Harry would come home with a little bit of smoke lingering on him and around him which would then get onto me. It would build up everyday and soon I felt like it was getting into my lungs and I was choking on it. I needed the air to be clean. So as long as Harry was around that man, I couldn’t be. Because clearly, the longer I was, the easier it was for me to succumb to my urges.

It sounds unfair because Harry did nothing wrong but I knew how much this album meant to him and the rest of the band and if anyone was going to do well by them it was John and I didn’t want Harry to choose between me or him. He would’ve chosen me and I knew if he did that, there’s no telling what John would do to spite them.

Harry: I asked the guys to leave for the night so Giulia and I could talk. The night out on the town could wait. The album could wait a little longer even if our label was hounding us. I really didn’t care anymore.

I slid open the back door and asked her if she wanted to come inside. Compared to before, she looked peaceful now; like whatever was weighing down on her had lifted. She turned towards me and shook her head. She said, “The air is a lot clearer out here.”

Giulia: I patted the seat next to me so he would sit down. He seemed so anxious so I knew it was best if he would sit down for what I had to tell him.

Harry: She took my hand in hers and said, “I need to leave until this is all over. Until you have that Grammy in your hand.” I didn’t understand her at first. I thought she was calling off our engagement.

Giulia: My heart sank when I told him the truth about how I truly felt about all of this. I could tell he was putting the blame on himself and that’s the last thing I wanted. I loved him with all of my being and nothing was going to stop me, nothing ever stopped me from loving this man. We had everything I could ever dream of. What John did put a pause on our future but it didn’t stop it completely.

I deserved to be happy and so did Harry and this was the best way to get there.

Harry: The air was so thick and I felt so claustrophobic even though we were outside. I thought she thought I was putting my career before her and that I was choosing him over her. I thought I was becoming the version of a man she hates most: A pretentious dick who cared more about my fame and my music rather than her. I thought I was becoming Levi.

Giulia: He started crying. I’ve seen him be emotional and maybe shed a tear or two but never cry like this. My heart ached for him.

I grabbed his face and made him look me in the eyes. I said, “Words simply cannot fathom the love I have for you in this body of mine. We’re going to get married and have a family and the life we’ve always wanted. I just need some time, H.”

I took off this other ring of mine that I hadn’t taken off in years and gave it to him.

Harry: She put her birthstone ring in my palm and closed my fist around it. She never took the thing off.

Giulia: I wanted to give him a token of me so he knew I would come back. I kept his engagement ring on as a token of his promise for forever.

I had nothing left to say. I planned on heading up to see my family for a little while before going off to England for Cry Baby like originally planned. Right before I walked back into the house to pack my bags, I turned around to tell him one final thing. “I hope you write an incredible song about this. I expect nothing less than grammy-winning.”

Harry: She walked away and that was it. It took me all of about ninety-seconds to realize I couldn’t lose her but she was gone. That night I wrote ‘Nothing Less’.

Because she was right. Giulia Stone deserved nothing less than remarkable.

I showed it to the band and John the next day and he said to me, “Now this is good shit, H. I told you there was more to songs than being in love with some chick.”

SP: Harry punched John so hard I could’ve sworn I saw his eyes roll to the back of his head.

Opal: Harry was seething and screamed for John to get out and never come back.

He looked heartbroken. He wrote ‘Nothing Less’ as an uptempo song but the lyrics were awfully dark. I asked him what had happened and he didn’t want to talk about it.

Niall: John was willing to take the punch and stay, that’s how passionate he was about our music. In my opinion, I think he just wanted all of the credit. I realized after we finished that we worked our asses off for that album, not John. He took about thirty smoke slash drink breaks a day and really only helped us come up with a drum line for one song or a guitar riff for another.

He was like a placebo. People think because of him they do better, but I can guarantee other musicians just didn’t realize how talented they were in the first place.

John: I made that fucking album and he was gonna come in like a fucking caveman and kick me out just like that? She got into his head again and now I was the bad guy. That’s what women do best, pin men against each other for fun.

SP: ‘Nothing Less’ was gonna be the next single. Ned loved it, Gordy loved it, the label loved it.

Opal: ‘Fine Line’ was finished. Our third studio album. My personal favorite.

Niall: ‘Fine Line’ the song closes off the album which was the exact thing we were missing. It was probably our most meaningful song at the time because no matter how you interpreted it, it would mean something to you.

Giulia: I heard news of the album like everyone else, through the media. It was speculated to be an amazing album worth the wait and I couldn’t wait to listen.

On August 18th, 1978, ‘Fine Line’ was released to the public. Within its first week, it sold just over a million copies worldwide, becoming one of the fastest selling albums of the time.

On December 1st, 1978, ‘Fine Line’ was nominated for a total of eight Grammy awards, including Album of the Year. The ceremony would be held at the Shrine Auditorium on February 15th, 1979.

On January 17th, 1979, Giulia Stone was nominated for her second Academy Award for Sand Dollar Summer.

Opal: When we got news that we were nominated, we cheered, screamed, cried; It was so strange. We worked so hard and went through so much and it paid off. Finally. 

SP: It’s great being nominated, honestly, no better feeling. But only one thing would top that feeling and it would be getting that award over the Waves. Of course they were nominated that same year.

Niall: People had their money on the Waves. Guys on the radio said they’d rather eat shit than for us to win.

Harry: I was so happy when we got the news. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders but it felt wrong celebrating without Giulia. I knew she was proud of us though, even if she didn’t call.

I just had to keep hoping she would come back to me.

I called her as soon as I heard she had been nominated again. Anna answered the phone and told me she hadn’t even heard the news yet because she was still asleep. I was worried she had fallen back into her old tendencies but Anna reassured me that she had jet lag.

Giulia: I was not high or drunk ever within those months away from Harry. I went back to therapy more frequently and went to a few support group meetings. I was doing better.

It’s also important to mention that I had no idea Harry fired John months prior so I thought he was still around. Doesn’t excuse me… what do kids say, ghosting him but no one ever said I made the best decisions with my life.

Anna: While they were separated, Giulia kept her ring on every day and really began planning their wedding. She truly never had any intention of leaving him ever again. That’s why she even planned how she was gonna see him again. She may not seem like it but she is quite the romantic.

Opal: When Grammy night came around I was a mess. God, I was nervous, we all were.

Ned: I’m not a very religious guy, but I prayed for them ever since they got nominated. They needed this win.

SP: So much was going on that day. That morning we learned Mitch had been seeing the drummer of the waves for a long time; right under all of our noses.

Whenever we were at the studio and took a break, I noticed he would always run straight for the phone to make a call but I never would’ve guessed who he was calling.

When tour would end and we’d get a few months to ourselves, he’d practically vanish off the face of this planet until it was time to start on some new music. It was nuts. I mean we felt betrayed because she was our fucking enemy. Maybe he told her about our songs and she took inspiration and told her band, who knows.

Niall: I couldn’t look at him. I didn’t care who he put his dick in, but he had a relationship with her. For like, seven years. Seven and he didn’t bother telling us.

Mitch Rowland (rhythm guitar, The Dreamers): I don’t like talking about my past but I’ll tell you this: I don’t regret my relationship with Sarah and I don’t regret not telling the band and I don’t regret being in that band, I regret nothing.

I didn’t tell them because I knew they would’ve tried to take advantage of our relationship and use it to get a one-up on the Waves. Much like Opal, I cared very little for that award and I most certainly wasn’t going to put my relationship at risk for it.

That’s all I got for you.

Harry: Younger me would’ve felt betrayed like SP or Niall but I knew what love does to you and what you would do to protect your relationship. In fact, I respected Mitch for what he did.

Opal: Honestly, his relationship was the last of my business and the last of my worries that day. I wasn’t hurt because he kept it from us but more so hurt that he didn’t trust us. Because that’s what it was – he thought we would’ve used their relationship for leverage, he didn’t trust that we’d just let them be. And maybe he was right, but I would’ve loved more women around.

Harry: I told SP and Niall to get over it because there was nothing we could change now, not that we had any right to change it anyway. I told them to put on their best fake smiles and be mad after the night is over. We didn’t need any drama before the ceremony.

Giulia: So, honestly, I didn’t watch the whole thing. I mean does anyone ever watch the entirety of an award show aside from the main awards? Doubtful. I had about an hour to finish setting everything up before switching the TV on.

My heart was racing in my chest for them.

Ned: Before the big awards, the album won one of the other five nominations. Next was Record of the Year. ‘Nothing Less’ won.

Giulia: ‘Nothing Less’ won Song of the Year.

Harry: Final award of the night was Album of the Year. We had three Grammys under our belt. We already achieved everything we’ve wanted and more. And then ‘Fine Line’ won. We did it.

Opal: I was walking on cloud nine by the end of the night. I didn’t want the night to ever end.

Niall: I cried. I went to the bathroom and wept.

Giulia: I remember leaping off the couch and nearly falling into the glass coffee table. I was so proud. All I could think about was hugging each of them and expressing my love.

I… wish I had been there to feel Harry in my arms when they won. It feels so good to hug someone after hearing your name get called. It’s hard to explain but it just feels good.

Harry: They all talked about going out afterwards and I wanted to, but I had to get home. I had this feeling, I don’t know. I told them we could pregame at my house and if I was up for it I'd join them. I had to go home to see if she would call or maybe answer if I called.

Opal: We were keeping a secret from Harry. We’d known for a while what was gonna happen. I’m surprised we were even able to pull it off.

SP: We were so fancy, we even had a limousine drop us off. I guess that’s what winning a Grammy does to you [laughs].

Giulia: I saw the limo pull up outside of the house. I was giddy and so relieved they won because otherwise all of the decorations I put together would’ve been like a knife in the back [laughs].

Harry: When I opened the front door, the last thing I expected was a surprise party coordinated by Giulia herself. There she was front and center, clapping along with everyone else, tears in her eyes while she had the biggest smile on her face.

Niall: All of our families and friends were there. Mine, SP, Mitch, Opal, and Harry, all of them.

They were so loud it felt like we were at a concert.

Gemma: Giulia called me one day saying she needed me and our mum to fly out to California for a surprise party after the Grammys; for when they would come home as winners.

I asked her, “How do you know if they’re gonna win?”

She didn’t even stutter when she said, “They will. So I need you to call your mom and any of Harry’s friends. I’ll buy plane tickets if I have to.”

Giulia: It was hard getting the numbers of everyone’s family because I originally wanted to surprise all of them, but I realized it was gonna be impossible unless I at least asked Opal. And then one-by-one I had to tell all of them and made them swear they wouldn’t tell Harry.

I’m really surprised it worked out if I’m honest.

Gemma: The look on Harry’s face said it all. He was so shocked, it was honestly endearing.

Harry: Giulia came over to me and I think she was nervous and didn’t know whether or not she could touch me or hold me and I’m sure most people would’ve been really hurt if their fiancée pretty much vanished for months but… I don’t know, I couldn’t find it in myself to be mad at her. I was glad she was back. 

I grabbed her and kissed her. I could feel her smile into the kiss and for a brief moment it felt like we were the only two in the room.

Giulia: I felt good. I felt back on track. I was happy to be back in the arms of the man that I love.

Harry: When we pulled apart from each other, her arms stayed wrapped around my shoulders while I held onto her waist. I saw tears well up in her eyes.

She said, “I’m so proud of you.”

I said, “I couldn’t have done it without you,” which is true. She’s my muse and it’s because of her that we were able to finish that album.

Giulia: There was only one thing left for us to accomplish.

Harry: I went to give her her ring back but she shook her head and insisted I keep it.

I felt like the luckiest man on earth that day.

Giulia: After everything we’d been through, it kinda felt like we were star-crossed lovers: Destined to fail at the hands of the stars. But each time we bounced back and came back stronger than ever. That’s how I knew I wanted to be with him forever, because no matter what we always found a way back to each other.

Maybe you should name the book that: Star-Crossed.