And the winner is.....

Forgetting she was supposed to not talk to rest her voice as we drove to the Santa Barbara gig, Julia positively shouted at me that I could keep my hands off Daniel Day Lewis as he’s her fantasy boyfriend and has been since they had a clash of shopping baskets in Holland & Barrett on Kensington High Street over 20 years ago.

I was telling Max and Lori, who was driving, that I was thinking of switching my allegiance from George to Daniel in the light of Daniels’ stellar performance in There Will Be Blood, his Oscar and SAG award acceptance speeches and the fact that his significant other is a grown up.

All this despite the fact that I was draped all over a card board cut out of George for a piece I wrote for The Mail On Sunday’s You magazine (there’s a link to it on my website www.clairefordham.com). The photographer, the wonderful Mimi Haddon, let me keep the George cut out. I thought it would look splendid in our bedroom but Colin would have none of it and insisted it be thrown in the garbage. He scoffed at my suggestion he might be jealous, describing George as the Rock Hudson of the 21st century.

As Jack Nicholson said, “You know you’re a movie star when people start calling you a faggot.”

Julia’s gig at The Roxy in LA was a sensation. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Roger Friedman of FoxNews.com said about it…

Julia Fordham Jazzes It Up:
Tracy Ullman, TV writer-director John Wells, famed record producer Richard Perry and actress Joanna Kerns were among the lucky who made it into dazzling singer Julia Fordham’s show at the Roxy Wednesday night.
Fordham without a doubt is one of the handful of great voices of her generation. Her new album, "China Blue," available at novatunes.com and cdbaby.com, is just the latest in a series of terrific releases.
She sang a lot of her faves Wednesday night, such as "Happy Ever After," "Porcelain," "Stay" and "Manhattan Skyline" with joyousness and ebullience. Her richly textured contralto voice just soared. The new songs from "China Blue" were met with crazy ovations from the crowd, particularly "I Want to Stay Home With You."
Fordham is the most under-the-radar star in the pop music galaxy. Tonight she plays San Francisco. …

The low point of this otherwise spectacular week for The Fordham Sisters was meeting Julia at the ER with Marley who had to be put on an I.V. as she had been so sick with a heinous bacterial infection she picked up on the plane back from the Philippines. It was an absolute nightmare. The poor little might was petrified and traumatized as were Julia and I watching her suffer so.

Once she had the fluids in her she got much better but the only thing that would comfort little Marley was Julia singing to her. “Sing, Mama Julia. Sing,” she whispered in between sobs. Tears were streaming down my face as Julia sang her little girl “How I Love You Baby.”

How Julia got up on stage this week and gave such blinding performances after five sleepless nights with a desperately sick child I’ll never know. Julia never ceases to amaze me. She’s an extraordinary talent and a wonderful mother.

I didn’t go to San Francisco as I’m on Marley duty today. Must dash as I have to pick her up from Pre-School. Just before she was sick, Marley, aged two-and-a-half, was sitting at the piano, banging away at the keys. She said: “Mama. Teach me to play the piano. I wanna be in a band.”

Plus One : The Next Generation

Max has only been here a week and already he is carrying on our fine and noble family tradition. He accompanied Tracey Ullman as her plus one to Clive Davis’ Pre-Grammy party – the hottest ticket in town. They sat at the same table as Rod Stewart and Lionel Ritchie. Gladys Knight was behind him, Whitney Houston to his left. What a great start to his new life in Los Angeles.

It is wonderful to have him here. He’s staying at Julia’s at the moment while she, Arthur and Marley are in The Philippines enjoying the five star treatment as befitting “The Jewel of Pop Jazz” as Julia is known in those parts.

Max takes Muttley for a long walk every day, something the hound hasn’t had since Marley was born which is why he’s as fat as a pig. Max is loving being in Topanga Canyon, although he is rather trapped there because he doesn’t drive. Californians gasp in disbelief when they hear he can’t drive yet. They can’t comprehend that many people in Central London don’t drive as they use public transport or walk and there’s nowhere to park your car even if you have one. The very idea of a congestion charge is impossible for Americans to comprehend. That’s next on our list of jobs to do: teach Max to drive. He was thrilled to discover that it’s impossible to stall an automatic. I drive up to see him every other day to take food parcels and clean washing. He’s loving having the time to just be and write.

However, he had a horrible wake up call yesterday when the septic tank overflowed, causing a heinous back up in the toilets. That’s country living and being a Plus One for you - life is grand one minute and a shit show the next.