Blog 45

I have lived in the country for the last 8 ½ years and I love it. Until now! The village I live in has no shop, restaurant, bar or post office. The nearest of these is 5 kms away. Now I have no car, in that it is in for repair, and I can’t do anything other than sit here at home for 2 weeks. Actually… it’s great! I can listen to/watch what I want and not have to worry I might be late getting somewhere, and I have the best neighbours in the world who drive me for my weekly shopping to the big shop 20 kms away!

Filip asked if there were any photos from Freddie’s recording session with Michael Jackson.
To my knowledge there are none around. There was no photographer there on the day and I certainly didn’t take any. I’m sure if there were they would have appeared by now, with the news that Brian and Roger are working on the tracks.

Adam wanted to know if Freddie spent much time with fans.
Freddie wouldn’t specifically avoid fans unless he was late and had to be somewhere urgently. If he met fans outside Garden Lodge he would signs things and have photos taken. The same would happen in restaurants and other places where he was approached. He generally wouldn’t invite fans backstage at shows to talk with them and wouldn’t spend extra time at press conferences to be with fans. He was very aware of fans and would give everything on stage for them.

Harley asked how it felt to see the image of Freddie in the German TV show.
It was strange, but I had some information on how it would be accomplished so was also prepared for it. I had spoken to the actor who was ‘Freddie’ and he told me how he had spent hours and hours practicing Freddie’s movements from the video that he would have to replicate in the studio. It was a bit disconcerting to see the actor on the stage but Freddie on the screen above.

Katie asked if Freddie would have lived his life differently if he had known how his life would end.
I can really only direct you to what Freddie said in an interview, and pardon me if the quote isn’t exact. When asked this question by David Wigg Freddie basically said he might do a couple of things differently, but basically he wouldn’t change things. I think Freddie felt he had really enjoyed the life he had lived.

Marisa asked if any of Freddie’s family attended live shows of Queen.
Yes,usually the whole family, Bomi, Jer, Kashmira and Roger, would attend one of the London concerts. Freddie always made sure they had good seats in the VIP section, but one thing he wouldn’t do was curb his swearing, even though he knew his mother didn’t really like it.

Neda wanted to know about Freddie going to the cinema.
In my 12 years with Freddie I can only recall going to the cinema 3 times with him. The first was when we were in New York and Freddie and a group of friends went to see the first Indiana Jones film. Freddie burst out laughing when someone in the audience commented on the fact that one of the actors in a scene in the desert accidentally eats a fly. The second was the premiere in Tokyo of Flash Gordon and the third was in Munich at a screening of The Never-Ending Story. It was dubbed in German and Freddie couldn’t understand and was frustrated. His friends laughed at something in the film, but Freddie was convinced that they were laughing at him so we got up and left. He really wasn’t do interested in modern films and only went to please his friends.

Aidan asked how Freddie grew his moustache.
It was easy for Freddie, as his facial hair grew very quickly. He always had a ‘5 o’clock shadow’ within hours of shaving. Any time he went out to dinner, the theatre or some event, the last thing he did was shave. A shaving kit was always taken to video shoots where we knew he would be for a long tim.

Chris wanted to know if there was any way to see any of Freddie’s artwork from college.
The simple answer is no, not really. It is all in the possession of his mother and sister and they lend it out only on very special occasions. The last time any of it was seen for any length of time was at the ‘Storm Troopers in Stilettos’ exhibition in London a couple of years ago.

Paul asked if Freddie was shy all the time.
Freddie was shy whenever he was in a place he didn’t know and also if he had no friends around with him. When he was with those friends he would be the life and soul of the party. I think the shyness came about because he was always aware that strangers wanted to get close to him, so he would try to keep away from those situations. He sometimes felt that he wouldn’t live up to the expectations of others, so avoided meeting new people.

Duarte thinks it is now time to tell the world where Freddie’s ashes are.
Personally I don’t. One of Freddie’s last wishes was to go to his grave with nearly no-one knowing where he was buried. I really don’t understand what satisfaction, anybody, who never knew Freddie, would get out of this knowledge. Most of his friends have no idea where his ashes are now and are able to get on with their lives without thinking every day about this subject. We all have Freddie’s legacy, his music, to live with and enjoy.

Ok, now what should I listen to now……… I am quite excited about a couple of new ventures I must put my mind to now, so on with time on the computer. Have a good week until the next time!