DO you ever feel you want to "get away from it all?" Whatever "all" may mean! Well, I've been able to get away from it once or twice lately and it's great. Away to a wonderful old house my folks have just taken in the heart of the country.
     It's in the county of Kent. Which they call The Garden of England. And, boy, are they right! Acres and acres of farmlands (all quite small). Olde Englysshe cottages that really are Olde Englysshe. No kidding! And this is where some of the best English beer comes from. The hopfields of Kent. Which brings me to the "getting away" bit.
     Because they've got a village pub down there where you feel you've stepped back a couple of centuries or more. Just farmers in their gumboots talking about the crops. Nobody - but nobody - mentions Show Business. And it's great! They know I've something to do with it but to them I'm just Peter Noone. And I'll take a bet that none of them will ever come to a show of mine (tho' their kids might)!.
     And yet - they do see me perform. On the dart board. Yes! They've made me a member of the village darts team. And do you know - that was as big a thrill as any Golden Disc!
     But could I live that way forever? After a week I'd be screaming to get back to it "all." And "all" is precisely what I've been back to these last few weeks.
     After There's a Kind of Hush there was a kind of rush. TV shows in London, Manchester (my home town) and Paris. The (literally) flying visit to do the Now and Dean Martin Show. Then back in time to start on the new picture, Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter, which'll keep me in England for a couple of months or so.

Herman in Hollywood along with Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys, and Jim Valley.

     People say "How can you stand all this dashing about?" But I love it! I love seeing places I've read about (and I do a lot of reading). Hearing different languages. Seeing different buildings, costumes. Even having to work out different currencies. I'm getting to be an expert at converting lira into dollars into francs into Australian pounds (different from English!).
     Did I tell you I was good at math in school? If I hadn't gone into Show Business I'd probably have been an accountant. Or a doctor. (What's the connection? Well. I was good at Physics too!)
     But traveling I love. And do you know what I plan to do later this year? Take a bit of time off and - no, not play darts in the village pub. Get into a jeep and go off on my own and explore the countries of Eastern Europe. The "behind the Curtain" lot.
     I've never been there, and to me it seems terrible that, in such a small world as this, there should be places I've never seen. It even seems strange to me that people should talk about wanting to go to the Moon, or Mars, when they don't even know their own country properly!
     And besides, wherever you go, you learn something new. Even if you don't always agree with it.
     Besides, who knows what I may find to add to my collection. (I told you about my mania for collecting things, didn't I?) Guess what my latest "haul" includes! A lovely French mourning ring in black and gold, about a hundred years old. Which I'm wearing now. And a beautiful engraved antique silver watch, every bit of which is hand-made. And which I'm wearing too! (And which keeps perfect time!)
     Why this craving for the past? Well, perhaps it's because the sort of life we lead is so here-today-and-gone-tomorrow. Paris one day, London the next, New York the next (literally - we've just done that). Certainly, so far as our fans are concerned, we're here today and (sorry to say) gone tomorrow. And yesterday's hit is - well, just yesterday's hit.
     So perhaps that's why I like to cling to things that have been around for ages. Things that will never change. A lot of show people, I find, are like that.
     Insecure, perhaps you'd call us!
     And maybe that's why I like to "get away from it all" every now and then. Into the village pub where the farmers (barely!) haven't changed in centuries.
     And where people just know me as - Peter Noone, the darts player!