My DD went to Columbia University in NYC and the campus is compact enough that her dorm was only a few minutes from her class rooms. She was in the habit of only allowing 5 to 10 minutes of walking time to go back and forth. I can't tell you how many times she'd call from her cell phone complaining that another TV show or movie was shooting on campus or nearby and the streets were blocked off and that she was going to be late for class. Law and Order was a frequent sight on campus. My DH and I would be watching an episode and all of a sudden we'd realized what part of campus was on the screen. Julia Stiles was in one of her Literature classes and Uma Thurman's brother was in another. Their father is a professor of Buddhist studies there. Those are the ones I remember. They shot several scenes of SpiderMan and Ghostbusters on campus and something with the Olsen twins. I remember she called and said they were so tiny they resembled 6 year olds. The luncheonette (Tom's Restaurant) that the Seinfield characters ate at frequently was on campus - they didn't film there but shot the exterior scenes. She nearly knocked Dustin Hoffman over when she was a freshman. She was returning to her dorm room carrying her laundry basket when he came out of her room and they bumped into each other in the doorway. His daughter's room was 2 doors away and he had walked into DD's by mistake. She frequently saw famous people around town but that's normal in NY. When I visted her I saw Jimmy Fallon, David Letterman, Regis Philbin, Erica Slezak, Kelly Ripa and some other soap actors who I'd recognize from the show but didn't know their real names. I passed Hayley Miles on the sidewalk and and gushed like an idiot telling her how I loved her films when I was a kid - Pollyanna, Moon-spinners, Tiger Bay. I'm only 90 minutes away so I've been up to see The View several times, Regis and Kelly, Rachel Ray, Conan. It's a fun day trip. A commercial for Toro lawn mowers was shot at my neighbor's house years ago but no one has ever seen it.

Thanks for the recommendations Carolyn. I'd be particularly interested in trying the Harrod-Eagles series since you and others here seem very enthusiastic about them - also, I have read and enjoyed some of her Bill Slider mysteries. My library has quite a few of her mysteries but only 1 or 2 titles in the Dynasty series and not even the first one - I sometimes wonder how they make their purchasing decisions.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thanks also to Cece who mentioned the Sheila Pim's mysteries on another thread. I have just finished "Common or Garden Crime" and will definitely be looking for the other three titles. This was a charming and witty cozy set in an Irish village during World War II (with a heroine who loves to read Jane Austen as an added bonus). I highly recommend it to anyone who likes cozies and it would probably be particularly appealing to any gardeners here.

Donna "being sent to the Tower" (of London) is luckily just an expression these days although way back when it was a Royal fortress those who had committed treason languished there and whiled away the time watching the scaffold being put up for a little light head-removal. Yoyo, Camilla has come through everything amazingly well. Goes out meeting and greeting, doesn't appear to have become 'grand' and gets on with the job, keeps her head down, stays well away from the press . . . and although Charles behaved very badly towards the late Diana, they do seem a genuine happy couple. I think the Queen has reigned for so long now and set such a good example of how to behave it will be difficult for anyone having to 'follow-on', but they (and we) will adapt . . .think of the hooha when Ed VIII abdicated . . . with time it all blew over. Annpan, I don't know about the Press being 'spiteful' towards MM. Certainly when she first 'arrived' they trod very respectfully around her and the 'colour' thing was never an issue with them or the public at large. I think it wasn't until she started complaining about her 'treatment' and how not enough people had asked how she was when pregnant etc and wouldn't play the game that they became less understanding especially when her LA 'friends' began to wade in. I think the general feeling is "OK, go your own way but don't expect the taxpayer to pick up the bill and stop insulting your new family."

Tina Marie - no, I'm a Canadian living in Australia. Mostly, I couldn't care less about the Royals and their activities. I'm hopeful that both my countries will become republics in my lifetime. Although there's a fair bit of coverage of the family here in Oz, I only got interested in the subject when it appeared my Canadian taxes (which I still pay) might be diverted to pay for Harry's security in BC while he sat on a multi-million dollar inheritance. That didn't sit at all well with me, or with most Canadians, and probably colored my views. Part of my skepticism though, has nothing to do with Harry and Meghan specifically, but with charities in general. You look at the books for a lot of them, and in some cases surprisingly little of the money raised or donated goes to actual causes; the rest is absorbed by "administration" - advertising, salaries, overhead, etc. I'm very selective about who and what I donate to these days.