Going once, going twice...sshhht!!

All day today, the media here have been full of images of 'Black Friday'. The day after Thanksgiving, stores in the US sell certain items at enormous discounts and all we here in Europe get to see are pictures of people camping out in front of the shops, or fighting over towels or T-shirts or TVs or videogames at 70% off. It's amazing how people give thanks for everything they have one day, and go out and get new stuff the next...

Anyway, instead of Black Friday, you may want to spend your money on charity instead so other people have things to be grateful for next Thanksgiving. And if you get an incredible, RA-inspired item as a reward, what could be better than that?

How, where, when, what, you ask? Well, get yourself over to I Want To Be A Pinup and feast your eyes on the wonderful items, all donated by RA fans. See anything you like? It could be yours for however much you would want to spend! Yes, you guessed it: this is a silent auction!

"Marian, don't tell me how much you wish to bid for that beautiful necklace! This is a silent auction!"

I think this is an absolutely brilliant idea and the donated items are gorgeous, every single one of them! I'm going to have to think carefully about what I'd like to spend my money on because only the highest bid wins.

Read the details carefully, so you know exactly what to do, find your favourite item and send in your bid (only a few days left!)... and then all you can do is wait for the results... fingers crossed!!

Oh, and all the money is sent to one of Richard Armitage's favourite charities on JustGiving, so don't forget to vote for the charity that you prefer!

Good luck! And thank you for your generosity!

My favourite picture for your birthday...

Happy Armitage Day to Richard Armitage fans across the globe...

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Richard Crispin Armitage, actor, heart-throb (yes, you, Mr. A!), dandy (very suave, when he's in the right frame of mind), circus worker (yes, he slept next to the elephants, get over it), dwarf (the tallest dwarf, in every way!), professional spy (I love Lucas North, did I mention that?), and Nazi saboteur (He's the only person who would want to make a cartoon character - Heinz Kruger in Captain America - look like more than a one-dimensional bad guy: Erich Gimpel, your biography is now on my reading list as well!)

After 21 days of counting down to this day, I owe you my favourite picture in honour of RA's birthday. so here it is:

Picture courtesy of the excellent Picture Gallery at www.richardarmitagenet.com

Why do I love this picture?

- It's Richard, as himself. No character to change his features, his voice or his actions, he's his very own, adorable self!

- His hair is short, and it's his natural colour

- The beard... what can I say? THE BEARD!! *I'm controlling the urge to run my fingers across his jaw*

- That incredible Belstaff leather jacket that fits him so very well - actually, I can't believe that the brand has not asked him to be their poster-boy (or man, I should say) because their jackets and coats look exquisite on him!

- He's talking about his role in The Hobbit and I am eagerly awaiting the day when I can finally see RA as Thorin on the big screen, in high-definition 3D!

- He's being serious: he's giving one of his incredibly intelligent, well thought-through answers to some interviewer's not-so-very-original question...

- His voice, yes his beautiful, deep, velvet, dip-me-in-chocolate, tingles-down-my-spine voice. Of course, you can't hear that voice in this picture, so I would like to share a video as well. A minute of Richard Armitage - thank you bcc mee for creating this!

I hope you've enjoyed my countdown to Armitage day and my selection of pictures. I've had a wonderful time going through the picture gallery and finding my favourites to share... Thank you all for visiting my blog, commenting on the pictures and for taking part in all the birthday fun!

Thank you Mr. A for inspiring me! Whatever you are doing to celebrate this day, I hope you enjoy it. Happy Birthday, Richard!! x

A birthday countdown in pictures (#21)

It's tomorrow: Armitage Day! I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do to celebrate, but I'm sure I'll figure something out...

And, what's more, I can't help but wonder what our dearest Mr. RC Armitage will be doing tomorrow. Is he working? Has he made his way back to London to see his family or are his friends organising a surprise party? Whatever it is, I hope he has a lot of fun and he remembers how many people will be raising their glass to toast to his health and to wish him well.

So on this last day of the countdown, these pictures soothe my soul. I call them "A Rhapsody in Blue". I like him even better in black, but the blue matches his beautiful blue eyes *blushes*...

Richard Armitage turns 41 tomorrow. These pictures are from 2008.
You can find the, as always, in the Picture Gallery of www.richardarmitagenet.com

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#20)

I'm almost at the end of the countdown to Armitage Day, the 41th birthday of my muse, Mr. Richard Crispin Armitage on 22 August.

Whenever I need to be reminded of how incredibly talented this man is, I look at the picture below. In 2002, Richard played gentle giant John Standring in the three-part drama series Sparkhouse, a modern version of Wuthering Heights.

I 'met' Richard when he played John Thornton in North & South, but it was his role as John Standring that convinced me that RA was one of the best actors of his generation. He went to the casting for this role in character, and convinced the casting directors without a fragment of doubt that he was John Standring. His performance in Sparkhouse continues to amaze me and I go back to it on a regular basis. You can see the entire series on Youtube, and you really should!

Richard Armitage as John Standring in Sparkhouse (2002)
Picture supplied by www.richardarmitagenet.com

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#19)

Richard, please forgive me if I use your birthday countdown to talk about a worthy cause...

It's exactly one year ago today that 3 men from Little Rock, Arkansas, were released from prison. They had spent 18 years in prison for a crime they did not commit and one of them had been sentenced to death. On 19 August 2011, these men agreed to take a so-called "Alford Plea" to be released from prison. The Alford Plea basically means that you plead guilty in court while you maintain your innocence.

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelley Jr. are free, but their names have not been cleared.

Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of The Rings trilogy and the upcoming The Hobbit films has been instrumental in getting these men, known as the West Memphis Three out of prison. He continues to support their case and today published a message about this case on his Facebook page.

The documentary West of Memphis, directed by Amy J. Berg and produced by Peter Jackson was shown at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Damien Echols is an inspired writer. His story, Life After Death, will be released on 18 September 2012. See it on Amazon here. It's at the very top of my reading list.

Richard Armitage as John Porter in episode 3 of Chris Ryan's Strike Back 

Today, my thoughts go out to Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelley Jr. I hope they are finally getting the chance to enjoy life, a life that was taken away from them by a failing judicial system.

My heart goes out to the families of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore and I hope that they will someday know who is responsible for the death of their children.

"Lay beside me, tell me what they've done
Speak the words I want to hear, to make my demons run
The door is locked now, but it's open if you're true
If you can understand me, then I can understand the you"

(From The Unforgiven 2 by Metallica)

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!



A birthday countdown in pictures (#18)

“Margaret liked this smile;
it was the first thing she had admired in this new friend of her father's; and the opposition of character, shown in all these details of appearance she had just been noticing, seemed to explain the attraction they evidently felt towards each other.”

(From North & South by Elisabeth Gaskell)

What can I say? I know how she feels...

Images from a 2008 Promo shoot
Supplied by the Picture Gallery at www.richardarmitagenet.com

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!



A birthday countdown in pictures (#17)

We're at day 17. Armitage Day is almost upon us. I don't know about you, but I can't wait! I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do on the 22th, but I'll definitely be sure to have a glass of wine to toast to the good health of a certain Brit we all know and love :-)

So why don't we take it easy for a change. We bow our head and think of all those things we love about Richard Armitage. Personally, I love him because he's genuine and humble (and incredibly talented and extremely handsome as well!). He once mentioned that he loved this song by Keane, and I love this beautiful picture - and they fit together so very well!

The originalof this picture can be found at www.richardarmitagenet.com
It's from the 2011 photoshoot for Project Magazine

I don't wanna be adored
Don't wanna be first in line
Or make myself heard
I'd like to bring a little light
To shine a light on your life
To make you feel loved

No, don't wanna be the only one you know
I wanna be the place you call home

I lay myself down
To make it so, but you don't want to know
I give much more
Than I'd ever ask for

Will you see me in the end
Or is it just a waste of time
Trying to be your friend
Just shine, shine, shine
Shine a little light
Shine a light on my life
Warm me up again

Fool, I wonder if you know yourself at all
You know that it could be so simple

I lay myself down
To make it so, but you don't want to know
You take much more
Than I'd ever ask for

Say a word or two to brighten my day
Do you think that you could see your way

To lay yourself down
And make it so, but you don't want to know
You take much more
Than I'd ever ask for

(Hamburg Song by Keane. From their 2006 album Under The Iron Sea)

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#15)

Welcome to day 15 of our countdown to the 41th birthday of one of the most talented actors of his generation: Mr. Richard Crispin Armitage. Leicester lad, professional chameleon, DIY expert and lover of literature.

I started this countdown to be able to illustrate the things I love about Richard Armitage with pictures. I've mentioned his voice, I've talked about his elegance, his talent, his beautiful blue eyes. But there's one more thing that I adore about this man: his profile!

Just look at this picture of John Porter from episode 3 of Chris Ryan's Strike Back:

Richard Armitage as John Porter in Chris Ryan's Strike Back

Could this man be any more perfect? Smooth skin, dark (short!) hair, those perfect sideburns, that designer stubble, the beautiful, long neck, the narrow lips, the hopelessly irresistible lines around his eyes, the shape of that nose... even his ears are perfect!

Or am I just biased? ;-)

One more thing: My man should wear black. That's his colour. And I adore him as the perfect embodiment of "tall, dark and handsome". But I have to admit that he looks good in this picture. The earthy sand tones suit him extremely well. And those sunglasses...P.E.R.F.E.C.T.I.O.N.



What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#14)

Let's stay with Lucas North for one more day...

Episode 3 of season 7 is my favourite episode of Spooks. It's the first episode in which we really get to see Lucas North in action. He's confident in dealing with assets and in taking decisions that could affect the lives of his colleagues. They are immediately in awe of the lanky, strong case officer who seems to have found his place in the team after 8 years of captivity in Russia. 

Richard looks great in this episode full of close-ups. Just look at those blue eyes, that intense look of concentration and determination, the sensitivity and insecurity that shines through from the depths of his soul, that hint of a smile on his lips or those seriously cute crinkles! And don't get me started on how elegant he looks in that beautiful, dark winter coat... *blush*

I really, honestly tried to find my favourite picture from this episode, but there are so many! Enjoy them, I'm sure I will... again!! ;-)

 As always, none of this would have been possible without the amazing picture gallery supplied by www.richardarmitagenet.com. Don't forget to find them on Facebook and 'Like' the page!


What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#12)

If you visited this blog during FanstRAvaganza 3 last March, you have probably seen the post in which I talk about a picture of Ricky Deeming. At the time, I selected that picture because it showed so many things that I love about Richard Armitage. But today, I want to show you the pictures of Ricky that took my breath away - and they continue to do that every time I look at them...

Hey Ricky!

He still manages to blow my mind...

Richard played Ricky Deeming only once, for the pilot episode of George Gently, which was first shown in April 2007. If I've calculated this correctly, he must have been filming this during a break in the production of (Season 2 of) Robin Hood. That's probably why I see so much of Guy of Gisbourne in Ricky, and that's always a good thing!

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#10)

Ten days into our countdown to Armitage Day and I still have so many pictures to share!:-)

Armitage Day, on 22 August, is Richard Armitage's birthday. He'll be blowing out 41 candles this year - unless he decides to sleep through his birthday again, like he did last year!

Back to today: It's Friday night, and I've got a date with this guy (I wish!):

The pictures from this photoshoot appeared in the Sunday Times in April 2006

I love the dark green colour of Richard's suit, dark but warm at the same time. The boots are lovely, but I would change the tie, though. Or he can just do without the tie... And I want that table for my dining room (with the gorgeous man on top, if you please!)

I especially like the fact that you can clearly see that this kind of photoshoot is just not Richard's cup of tea... He tries to put on his best 'I'm too sexy for my shirt' look, but I just see right through that. Oh, he's obliging the photographer by taking on this pose and staring right at us. He knows the picture will look great, but this is clearly not Richard, it's just an act. I can't explain why that's so clear to me from this picture, but it is.

A great start of the weekend! Have a good one!

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#9)

Requiem for a beard...

It's been confirmed, The Beard is no more. In honour of the joy it has given me over the last year and a half or so, I've decided to post one of my favourite pictures earlier than planned. I love this one so very much, I was thinking of saving it for Armitage Day....

The Beard 2011-2012

This picture is from a 2011 photoshoot for the iPad-only Project Magazine. This particular picture was taken by Matt Holyoak. As always, the picture was supplied by www.richardarmitagenet.com

Let's all take a moment in silence to mourn this terrible loss...

...and then remember this: the good thing about beards is, they grow back!!! :-))

Have a great (end of) day!!

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#8)

Welcome to another episode in the countdown to Armitage Day, the day that we celebrate our favourite man's birthday...

Today, I wanted to share a few images from my favourite Spooks interview. Richard was interviewed by Heather Hugues of TV.com on 25 June 2010 to promote season 9 of Spooks.

Richard Armitage talks about season 9 of Spooks and reveals that Lucas North is not who we think he is... He's not even who Richard thought he was!

What I love about this interview?

1. Richard looks exceptionally good: to me, he's the perfect mix of Himself and Lucas North
2. He's relaxed and seems to be having a wonderful time
3. His answers are very intelligent, well thought-through and genuine
4. He smiles, often!
5. There's a mischievous twinkle in his eyes...
6. And those eyes are bright blue (thanks to the blue shirt and the light colour of the wall)
7. He uses his hands and (I think I've said this before) I love a man who speaks with his hands! It enhances the storytelling and illustrates his thoughts, it makes it look as if he's making an effort to give the best answer he could possibly give and it gives the entire interview a nice rhythm
8. I especially love the sound of his voice in this interview

If you want to listen to the man's beautiful velvet voice yourself, here's the video:

The video was taken from Youtube, the pictures came from my number one resource for anything related to Richard Armitage, www.richardarmitagenet.com

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#7)

Two things made me select this picture for today.

First of all, I've been experiencing internet connection difficulties this evening. Five minutes before I was going to publish today's picture, the connection was suddenly gone! Luckily, the problem was quickly solved, but I decided to go for a different picture. This one shows my frustration about having to start again from scratch...

I've also been watching some amazing athletes at work at the London Olympics this evening (on TV, unfortunately, I wasn't actually there). So I felt like showing off Richard's amazing physical strength. Did you know that he's actually trained in advanced stage combat? I'm sure those skills were a great help to get him through dwarf bootcamp!

The picture is from Peter Jackson's very first (pre-)production video from the set of The Hobbit, so this scene must have taken place in March of 2011.

I have just two things to say:  "Nice legs, Richard!" and "Grrrrrrr......" ;-))



Richard Armitage in physical training for his role as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit.
Picture supplied by www.richardarmitagenet.com

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#6)

I call these: "A portrait of the artist as a young man".

I know, I "borrowed" the title from James Joyce. It's not Joyce in this picture, though, and I see 2 artists in these pictures, in fact.

First of all, I see a young Claude Monet, a brilliant artist who made this world a more beautiful place by the lovely paintings he created.  

And secondly, I see Richard Armitage. Or actually, I don't see him at all, and the way he manages to make himself disappear into the characters he plays is exactly what makes him a brilliant artist in his own right.

The pictures show Richard Armitage as the young Claude Monet in the BBC's The Impressionists, a series in 3 parts from 2006. I am again obliged to www.richardarmitagenet.com for the screencaps from the series. Oh, and did you know that www.richardarmitagenet.com now also has a Facebook page? Show your support and 'Like' the page now!!

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#5)

This Sunday afternoon, we have been invited to take tea with Mr. Thornton of Marlborough Mills to discuss the arrangements for Richard's birthday celebration. :-) 

Mr. Thornton (Richard Armitage) visits the Hale family for tea in the BBC's North and South,
based on the novel by Elisabeth Gaskell

I love the way Mr. Thornton holds his teacup in this picture. In fact, I'm convinced that it's a specific characteristic that Richard added to the personality of John Thornton to show that he is not of noble birth, although he has made his business a success. And I find it absolutely endearing!

North and South was how I discovered Richard Armitage and it's this particular scene that made me sit up and take a closer look at Richard as an actor. Those long fingers combined with the most amazing blue eyes, that velvet voice and a very modest but at the same time overwhelming acting style captivated me.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#3)

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real

The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

Picture: Lucas North (Richard Armitage) remembers a desperate time during his years of captivity in a Russian prison when he contemplated suicide (Spooks Season 8 episode 4)

Picture courtesy of www.richardarmitagenet.com

Lyrics: "Hurt" by Johnny Cash (originally by Nine Inch Nails)

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#2)

Welcome to day 2 of our countdown to 22 August, when we will be celebrating Richard Armitage's 41st birthday: the day that is affectionately known as Armitage Day.

Today's picture is from Richard's first real Hollywood adventure: Captain America, The First Avenger. Thank you www.richardarmitagenet.com for the picture!



Heinz Kruger (Richard Armitage) tries to get away from Captain America in his one-man submarine

In this film, Richard played the tiny role of Heinz Kruger, the Nazi agent who infiltrated the military base where skinny Steve Rogers had just been transformed into the super soldier who would become known as Captain America.

Richard had this to say about Kruger:

"It’s great to play a bad guy. But I really tried not to see him as a bad guy. I wanted him to be human and I wanted him to be the kind of spy who had a moral conscience. So he’s not just a tool, he’s actually…he really believes he’s fighting for the fatherland. I think it’s very easy to say that most people that operated in this period didn’t really know what was going on right at the center. And that’s probably true. But I think everyone has to have a real moral compass and really desire to do the right thing for their own country. And I wanted him to be more like that than somebody who just believed he was bad."

I like this particular picture because I feel it really makes Richard look like a cartoon character. I actually had to look carefully to make sure that it was a real picture and not a drawing or a technically enhanced image of Heinz Kruger.

Richard puts a lot of effort in developing the back stories and personalities of his characters and I was amazed to hear that he did the same thing for Heinz Kruger, who IS essentially a cartoon character, but Richard made him so much more than a one-dimensional bad guy. And again, he turned to literature for character research material.

That will be the subject of a future post: The literature that Richard uses for his character development. Coming soon!

See you tomorrow!


What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#1)

Today is 1 August 2012 (it actually already just after midnight here, but I'm conveniently ignoring that). Exactly 22 days from now, we will be celebrating Richard Armitage's 41st birthday, an event known in the fandom as Armitage Day.

To mark the occasion, I decided to discuss one of my favourite pictures of Richard every day, with my absolute favourite to be discussed on his birthday. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure which one that will be, but I guess I've got 22 days to make up my mind!

Unless stated otherwise, the pictures are taken from www.richardarmitagenet.com

Let's get started with this one:

Percy Courtenay (Richard Armitage) proposes to Marie Lloyd in the BBC's Miss Marie Lloyd, Queen of the Music Hall (2007)

In 2007, Richard played the role of Percy Courtenay in  Miss Marie Lloyd, Queen of the Music Hall, a BBC drama based on the life of Marie Lloyd, one of the most famous entertainers in England at the turn of the 20th century. Percy and Marie start a passionate affair and when she discovers that she's pregnant, Percy asks her to marry him by offering her a ring with the words: "You will say yes, won't you?" I love that moment, it's very sweet and filled with hope. Percy and Marie have a stormy and at times horrible marriage after that and Percy's jealousy will ultimately lead to his own downfall as well as the end of their marriage. But at the moment of this picture, that is all still far away in the future.

What do I love about this picture? Everything, really, but 4 things in particular: the shape of his nose (don't ask me why, but I do!), the hint of a smile on his slightly parted lips (extremely kissable!), the crinkles (how much more perfect can a man get if he can even make the lines in his face look sexy?) and the soft wave in his hair just above his ear (so adorable!). And, let's be honest, every picture that shows his neck is an absolute winner, right?

Come back tomorrow for another picture... and if you haven't had a chance to see Richard as Percy, you can watch the series on Youtube.


What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!