I'm sure Best Beloved thinks I'm absolutely mad.
He padded off to cook breakfast this morning, leaving me with the glad-wrapped Canberra Times that had been brought in wet from the garden (RAIN! perfect day, time to eat brekkie in bed with the paper to the sound of raindrops). He came back with a cuppa to find me sobbing over the paper. His alarm turned to bemused confusion when I told him that Belinda Emmett had died yesterday.
He has no idea who or what Belinda was, and to be perfectly honest, I don't really have much of an idea either. I watch very little commercial tv, and I've never sat through any of her shows. I've never watched more than ten minutes at any time of Rove's show either. BUT for years now I've been getting mercy parcels of Woman's Day from my nana every few months, which I read from beginning to end, chortling at the Real-Life dramas, sneering at the breast implants and marvelling at the fact that anyone would take those psychics seriously (a green face! WTF!).
So I've been quietly following Belinda's life for years, initially as Australia's soapie darling, then her first seemingly triumphant struggle with cancer, and then her more recent descent into the pit. And I've been so impressed with her attitude, her good humour and her dignity. She constantly struck me as a very strong, positive and admirable person. I didn't think about her a lot, just a small mental 'good on you, girl' whenever I saw her picture and read another good thing about her. I don't think I've ever read anything snide or catty about her anywhere, and that in itself is a remarkable thing for the Australian media.
The headline in the paper this morning was low-key and respectful. So I shed some tears for her. She was 32; the whole story appeals to my tragic romantic fairytale leanings. I know this sounds corny, but I'm impressed with Belinda Emmett. I admire the way she and Rove fully embraced the fact that she was going to die, and made time in their lives for each other and the things they wanted. I sincerely wish Rove the best in the future. Unfortunately I'm sure I'll be reading all about his struggles with grief in the next few years, thanks to Woman's Day and various other sources.
Now you all probably think I'm mad too.
9 comments:
I felt very sad too, for her and for poor Rove.
As I have been discussing with my friend Shaz, they always were adept at media - just enough information to satisfy a curious public, but never enough to feed prurience. I hope those skills sustain Rove through the next ghastly phase of his life alone.
Nah, you're not mad. It is very sad. An eight year struggle with cancer; she's been fighting since she was 24; and she was only 32. I have followed her story far less than you and I had a moment of quiet, sad reflection about her death. Poor Rove.
I had only read about two articles (while at my Grandmother's house) and I shed a tear. Like you said, she seemed like a lovely strong person and it was very sad. 32 is so young.
It popped up last night on ABC news website - about the same time Kylie's concert would have been starting in Sydney. Hopefully, between these two, there can be a push for increased research funding from a Fed government now quibbling about the cost of supplying a vaccine which would reduce the rate of cervical cancer. Let alone providing significant funding for research into breast cancer.
A fine tribute to Emmett and the thousands of other women who have and will develop this disease would be for Ten to run a series of public-info ads about self-examination, and raising funds for research. & donating part of its ad revenue.
I'm glad you posted that, &D. I certainly felt quite sad for her whenever I saw that weekend headline -- and she's only one of the young women who die from the disease. The rest we don't hear that much about.
The whole thing with Belinda Emmett really raised my opinion of Rove too, the way he dealt with things. Otherwise, I've never really had much time for him.
Nope, not mad at all. She was a genuinely lovely person. For once, the girl next door image actually matched the girl next door reality behind it, and I think that's why the articles in those cheesy mags made an impact on people. I'm glad someone has blogged it.
I am getting to my wits end with this bloody cancer plague.
-posted by Jellyfish, not signed in right now.
I'm much less cynical about Rove-and-Belinda than I am about othr 'celebrity' couples. I was sad too, because Rove seems a genuinely nice person (C'mon those in the know, disillusion me now!) and it seems so tough that his job involves jumping out and being funny! happy! for other people all those years. I'm glad he took a hiatus for himself.
Cast iron balcony
I was sad about this too. I didn't follow her career especially, but I do remember that she'd done a couple of strong performances in roles beyond the soapies she started in just before she was first diagnosed, and I was disappointed that her health meant she never got to follow through on a promising career as a serious actor.
She and Rove seemed very genuine, very into each other, and as Slithy Toad said, very adept at balancing media for the career with privacy for themselves. I'm not a fan of his, but I haven't heard anything bad about him industry-or-other-wise either. A rare pair. What a shame.
Ducky, lovely post. sorry I'm so far behind in the blogs so I've only just read this.
I'm in the same basket as you lot - I don't watch their programmes, I don't read those mags, but you really never heard a bad word about Belinda or Rove. Rove I could take or leave, if only because of the way 10 hyped him up. but we saw them at a Tripod gig a couple of years ago and they looked like they never left each other's sides.
it was sweet. this is sad.
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