Why I love British Boys !

I have to be honest about that topic. I love England. I don’t mean United Kingdom (even though I have a personal affection for Ireland and Wales), but I love England. I’ve been a fan of England for more than 30 years now. I feel like a British citizen and whenever the God Save the Queen is on air, I sing along and loud, as proud as I can be.

As far as I can remember, I’ve always felt for British boys. When I was 12, I fell in love with a British lovely boy who lived nearby Brighton and my second boyfriend was Welsh. And even if some of my boyfriends were French (very few indeed), they weren’t that French in their attitude and style (will go further on English attitude later).

Whenever it comes to classy boys, I have to admit that British boys are the best. Walk through any British cities (Needless to say London, of course) and you will get it. They are so stylized, not afraid to wear a trench or a hat ; Millions of miles away from many (southern) boys in France. So, after my post on “actors”, a reader (thanks to Jamie, a cute Britboy !) emailed me to ask whom British I fancy the most “but Jude Law”. He mentioned “Jude” twice in his email, probably because I’ve already said that Jude Law is the perfect guy.

But I have to say that I pretty like a few more. Jamie asked me “my very fave actors or singers. Only”. Here it goes. Please be indulgent to my choices :

First of all, number one, out of the competition: Jude Law…. It is obvious on that picture, isn’t it ?

(first time I’ve seen him on screen : Shopping 1993, boring and stupid film !)

Among the actors :

Paul Bettany. I’ve been looking to him for more than a decade and can’t decide my mind on how much gorgeous this guy really is. Probably more than Jude Law but in the lower version of sex-appeal… anyhow, he is enough sexy for me !

(first time I’ve seen him on screen : The Land Girls 1998, too romantic for me !)

Ben Whishaw. Yes, I know. Some of you are screaming at full volume and saying that I have obviously a major problem with my lenses (or my brain… most certainly both !). Each time I noticed that guy to my best friend, she looked to me pathetically… I can listen clearly her thoughts “Lisa is totally out of her mind !”. Once she even said “He looks like nothing at all”. But I quite like that kind of “nothing”.

(first time I’ve seen him on screen : Mauvaise Passe 1998 / La tranchée 1999)

Rupert Penry-Jones. I was still under the shock of the end of season 2 of Spook, this tremendous BBC series (French title : MI5) when the season 3 popped up. I was addicted to it already (and still) when I noticed a lovely blond actor casting to be the new “hero” of the show. I still don’t know if I’ve liked his character or the actor, but he is one of the cutest men I’ve seen…  He performed in others series or films and I still like him… well, well, well…

(first time seen on screen : Spook  2003 season 3)

It seems that Spook is quite a great show and that producers knows my tastes, because they casted after the death of Penry-Jones’ character another actor (British) I’ve been admiring for a few years : Richard Armitage. Though, he appeares on another TV series at the moment “Strike Back” (seasons 1-3) with another lovely British actor Andrew Lincoln… Let’s say that it is total bliss to watch at it !

(first time seen on screen : MacBeth 2005)

Benedict Cumberbatch. I have to say that the first time I’ve seen him in The Last Ennemy, I was a bit amazed by my taste. I myself thought that I had a serious problem… I can’t say that Cumberbatch is the prettiest man of earth, but he definitely has an elegant figure and a fascinating face that make him look like cute. At least, to my own tastes. I’m glad that he turned out to be in THE BBC series Sherlock… And it seems that I am no longer the only one who find him cute !

(first time seen on screen : The Last Ennemy 2008)

That is done for actors (Needless to say that a few more British actors could have been added… Don’t let me go on that subject : Think Ewan McGregor, etc...)

So, now, singers…. I have to admit that the singers I deeply like are only “a voice” for me. I don’t judge a singer for his beauty and sometimes, the voice is the only thing I notice from a singer…. Apart from those four guys ! Honestly, I firstly noticed their voice (mainly for the 2 last ones) then saw that they were quite my kind of men.

Graham Coxon. Well, if you ever meet me, you won’t be surprised by number 1 ! I’ve been admiring this nerd-like and child-like-voice guy for years! Years? I’ve been into Coxon for 22 years by now. 22 years of admiration and finding him “soooo cute”. If you don’t know me, you might be horrified at this #1 … But you know, I think that Graham Coxon is just so charming as a man and as an artist. In fact, he became over the years “my graham”.

(first time I’ve heard him … well, basically, I saw him in march 1990 and heard him speak in November 1990…)

Damon Albarn. Well, let’s be honest… Apart from his voice whose I first heard, no one can deny that Damon Albarn is a very gorgeous man. He was back in the 90’s and it would be a lie if I ever pretend that I didn’t notice that lovely boy on stage. He was cute, gorgeous, and divine (whatever you name it) but not my cup of tea. But I wasn’t blind, so…. Lately, I’ve seen him quite closely and at 44 years old, he was still quite magnificent.

(first time I’ve heard him : march 1990 ; Saw him on stage : june 1990)

Bill Ryder-Jones. This cute musician was then in The Coral and I didn’t hear him sing, but playing guitar and trumpet. He was very young and very sweet. I noticed him because he looked like one of my former boyfriends and it was a nice souvenir. I first heard The Coral in 2002 with single “Good Bye” and then, saw them in Paris supporting Blur Think Tank tour in 2003. I noticed him on stage that year.

(first time I’ve heard of him : 2002)

Alex Turner. Alex Turner… Or should I say Arctic Monkeys ? Because, I didn’t notice what Alex Turner looked like until I saw him a TV show in 2006. And obviously, he was NOT my kind of men. First of all, he was still a teenager and then, I didn’t really notice any of them. I liked Turner’s voice and his way of singing with his northern accent. Months after months, he was still the Arctic Monkeys singer and a voice. I finally opened my eyes in 2009 and the “Crying Lightening” video. He is not the most gorgeous guy I’ve seen, but he’s got this je-ne-sais-quoi which is familiar and pretty mysterious.

(first time I’ve heard him : late 2005)

So, right, to sum up it short, I might have very strange taste in men. Then, I can like brown hair or blonde hair but mainly blue eyed (Turner & Coxon are the exception!). I like them tall, quite slim and obviously with a kind of androgyny. Basically, it might come from my 80’s years and all those David Bowie, John Taylor, Robert Smith, Dave Gahan, and Martin Gore whom I liked and admired…

Oh My God, they are all British !

See, I can’t help ! If British boys could rule the world, I would be the happiest girl on earth !

New Sherlock... I am a fan...

Here, we go again ! England, British guys, Literature, Obsession, London and Fashion. It seems that those six words are quite bonded to my posts lately.

I’ve been a fan of British literature for years as I already mentioned and, indubitably, Conan Doyle’s famous character Sherlock Holmes is one of my favorites.

Books, films and series had been done upon him and it was very enthusiastic. However, last year, French channel France 4 put on air the BBC series “Sherlock”.  It is modern adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. He is brilliant, aloof, bizarre, smart, intuitive, obnoxious, arrogant, and dismissive. He still has this astute logical reasoning and use modern technology such as texting and blogging (he cannot live without this BlackBerry®) to solve cases. The fact is that he lives in the 21e, based in London where it has forbidden smoking in most public areas so that he replaced his pipe with multiple nicotine patches (hilarious scenes !).

Moreover the scripts are brilliants and honestly, everything is accurate and obviously addictive. Yesterday, I was quite disappointed when the end arrived. It was such an intense episode !

About Sherlock, in Doyle’s books, he was quite elegant and a kind of “cat-like” person, because hygiene means a lot to him. The modern Sherlock is still a bit obsessive with his figure and cleanness, but also he is so fashionable. I guess that the actor featured the “new Sherlock” is the main point on this “so styled” version.

Benedict Cumberbatch whom I am speaking of, is a British actor. I noticed him in the BBC series Spooks in the season 1. I thought he was tall, slim, and elegant and has this surprising beauty. He is still years after. Many of my friends (girls mainly) told me that he has an unusual face, quite strange indeed. I was rather the only one who points out how cute he was. One told me that I am “not objective” whenever it comes to British men and that I am not a reference about judging the beauty of Brit boys ! Anyhow, apart from his face and figure which are so classy and lovely for me, Cumberbatch has another good point : his voice. His character is so sharp whenever he talks and speaks like a machine gun. British accent is probably one of the loveliest accents I know.

So, yes, I know that some bloggers already made papers over the clothing and the style of new Sherlock Holmes, so I won’t comment on this topic. He is classy; the wardrobe is just remarkable and typically British and the director of photography is actually a very clever one. I would like to focus on the fact that an actor can brighten a series or darken it. For instance, whatever you may think about Cumberbatch’s beauty, he is Sherlock. He is unbeatable for this part. The best casting the production certainly made.

I’ve always thought that Sherlock Holmes had to be unlike others men, strange but attractive, distant but caring in his own way. Last episode has shown that part. Sherlock was laughing at a colleague who is clearly in love with him and he thought not on purpose that she was dressing up like a queen (a slut should be more precise !) for this guy, buying him a gift with a nice decoration on, to realize that he was that guy. You would assume from Sherlock to be selfish and to start a conversation over another subject, but he just kissed her on her cheek and apologized.  It was so cute and so not Sherlock indeed. To cut it short, he looked like a child quite immature when it comes to feelings and human relationships. Even more immature with the woman he fancied in this episode.

But back to the main actor, I think that he is the best part of the success of the BBC series. I am sure that Conan Doyle invented, too, a timeless character whom can live in the 20e, 21e and probably late 21e !

So, just have a look to the series and let me know what you think of this British actor and its unique beauty.