Ta, luv, my China Charlie.

I had begun to think I was being too picky, unable to find something at Netflix worth watching, even with what little time I have these days. Tim and I always liked anything British (except he found Monty Python unfunny for some funny reason) so it was nice to find something I'd never seen before and which looked promising -- the late 70's BBC Series, The Dutchess of Duke Street.

I sometimes think I should have been born in Edwardian times, and was immediately entranced by everything about it — the set, the characters, the blurry camera work from overlighting that typified such made-for-tv stuff in those days; I felt comfy and cozy. I loved the strange Edwardian phrases, like "poodle-faker," "divvy dancing," and "you can stick it where the monkey put the nuts." I zipped through the first set of 3 episodes and just finished the second set last night, happy that there were many more to come.

From his first appearance, I fell in love with the character Lord Charles (Charlie) Tyrell, He was an aristocrat, eventually to be Lord Haslemere, and I, too, became another of his conquests, enchanted by his looks and his down to earth but sophisticated manner. Christopher Cazenove, the English actor who played this role, (and also known for a major role on Dynasty) was himself a fairly sophisticated person with his own aristocratic roots. He reminded me in many ways of Tim, who had also had a bit of an acting career, but more so because of certain mannerisms, the devilish ne'er-do-well bloke, always looking on the bright side.

And I found that I couldn't stop thinking about this character - I was really smitten quite hard. He seemed "to be with me" off and on as I went about my days, and while I didn't question this seeming obsession — and rather enjoying it — he was never far from my mind. Finally, after finishing the 5th episode last evening, I decided to slow down the speeding credits at the end and find out who this dashing fellow was, and upon learning it was Christopher,Cazenove, naturally googled him.

I was astonished and then experienced what can truly be called un frissonnement, overcome by sudden shivers and sadness upon learning that Christopher Cazenove had transitioned a little more than 2 weeks ago on April 7, at the age of 66, from a quick battle against septicaemia, more often known as blood poisoning. Reportedly, he contracted the infection at the end of February after complaining of migraines during a business trip to California. On his return to the UK, he was treated at St Thomas's Hospital, in London, where he died on April 7.

What especially hit me was that his date of transition was the same day that I had put the first episode of The Duchess of Duke Street in my Netflix queue. Through tears, I whispered a prayer of luck and well being for him, the same one I do for everyone: "May your soul rest in peace, and everlasting light shine upon you." And then I watched the third and final show on the DVD, and went to bed.

In bed, in the dark, with Fiona and McHenry snuggled up tightly next to me, I continued to sadly ponder the how's and why's of this bit of a spirit mystery. Was I so tuned into this person I'd never met for a reason, or rather, maybe he was tuned in to me? At that point I felt yet another overwhelming emotional surge of feelings about this person, and began crying. "What?" I asked. Silence and purring were the only answers.

Just as I was drifting off to sleep, entering that in-between state, I clearly heard a voice say: "You better get that finger seen to now if you don't want to get the blood rot." I lay there for a few seconds, not comprehending what that meant. As I began to drift back to a fully waking state, I realized the middle finger on my right hand was throbbing with a bit of a burning sensation, and then remembered that a few hours earlier I had jammed the finger against the kitchen window sill while trying to grab and rescue a jar from falling, and gotten a sliver or some such schmutz jammed under the finger nail for my efforts. I didn't pay much attention to it, and I have the ability to dissociate from my body (not surprising for a medium) and any pain it might have (other than headaches) so had been ignoring it up to that point. But damn, it was hurting, and as I turned on the light to go tend to it, it suddenly hit me who it was who had been hanging about in order to prevent another early tragedy.

Ta, luv, my China Charlie.