Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 524
Grace Kelly
Hello Everyone
Do you recognize the lady in the picture at the top of the page?
She is one of the most famous faces in films from Hollywood. She had a glamorous life and some say her life story played out like a fairy tale.
Although she was one of the best known film stars of her time, her screen career lasted only 5 years. She made eleven films in that time. Some of them are still shown on television sometimes today.
She died in a car crash at the age of only 52.
Grace was brought up in a wealthy family from Philadelphia in the USA. She was cultured and elegant.
Her father gave great attention to her brother.
She wanted approval too and decided to go out in the world and make a success of herself.
She became a model and then went on to act in the theatre. Her talent was spotted as she worked on Broadway; the famous theatre district of New York.
Her big break in the movies was in a film called High Noon in 1952.
The camera liked her because she was pretty, but she was very serious about her craft of acting.
She won an Oscar at only 25 for a film she made called The Country Girl where she did not look a bit glamorous.
ln 1956, at the age of 26 it was announced that Grace Kelly was to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco.
Monaco is a tiny country between France and the Mediterranean Sea. lt is built on steep hills sloping down a harbour.
lt attracts very rich people who like the night life there.
She had first met Prince Rainier on a publicity photo shoot. His palace was thought to be an interesting setting for the photographs.
He was very charming to her and they continued to grow their friendship through writing letters to each other. He could speak English; he was British-educated.
They became engaged to be married, and Grace wore her sparkling diamond engagement ring in the last movie that she made. lt was called High Society.
One month after she finished filming, she sailed to Monaco.
The wedding took place in April in the Cathedral of St Nicholas in front of 600 people, including a lot of famous Hollywood celebrities. These actors were her friends.
The wedding was called the wedding of the century at the time, and 20 million viewers watched it too.
Her beautiful wedding dress was a gift from the film studio she had worked for called MGM. The dress was made in Hollywood.
Her title was to become Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco.
Grace already knew that she liked Monaco before it became her home because she had been to that part of the world before.
She had actually filmed a movie in Monaco called To Catch a Thief and had also visited the Cannes Film Festival nearby. But even so, it was a drastic step to leave her family, friends, country and career behind to start her new life as part of European royalty.
The media loved a story of a beautiful and famous actress with huge star quality becoming a princess.
But a lot of people said that when Grace went to live in Monaco she missed her old life. She felt isolated and sometimes a bit lonely.
ln those days, woman were encouraged to find a husband. lt was expected of them, it proved they were a success in life, and a prince was considered to be quite a catch.
But the couple had not known each other very well or for very long before the prince proposed marriage, and Grace was swept away in the romance and excitement of it all.
She tried to fit in to her new life in Monaco, but life was very different for her. She did not have the same freedoms that she had had as a career woman in America.
She set about learning French so that she could adapt to her new environment.
ln 1957, her first child was born. Her name was Caroline. Albert and Stephanie were to follow. She became busy bringing up her children.
Later, she connected again with audiences as she gave poetry readings and then she did appear in one more film in 1977; as a presenter of a documentary about a ballet school.
She donated her fee (wages) to a ballet school in Monaco which still bears her name.
On 13th September 1982, she set off from home with her youngest daughter Stephanie.
The car was racing along sharp bends in the road as they tried to catch a train to take Stephanie back to start the new term in her school in Paris.
But Grace suffered a brain haemorrhage, doctors later confirmed, as she was driving, and the car went out of control.
The road was very bendy and steep. The car flew off a 120 foot cliff and landed on its roof. The car was very crunched up.
She was driving on the route taken by her character in To Catch a Thief. A coincidence made much of by the press reporting the crash at the time.
Grace and Stephanie were taken to hospital and Stephanie remained there with a broken bone in her spine. She recovered; it was a miracle that she had survived.
But Grace died the next day at the age of only 52 with her family at her bedside.
The whole of Monaco was in shock and everyone mourned their beloved princess.
Stephanie could not attend her mother’s funeral because she was recovering from her injuries.
lt was held in the cathedral where Grace had been married 26 years earlier.
The funeral was watched by 100 million viewers.
Grace had had an amazing life and she still remains a screen icon and legend.
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Thank you!
And see you again next Fun Friday!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bob: Do you know why Cinderella got dropped from the football team?
Bill: No?
Bob: Because she was always running away from the ball!
Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.
Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com
Picture Gallery
High Society
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
This week, Emily went to Auntie Alice’s cottage for the weekend while her parents went away to an important business meeting. It was something called a conference. Emily couldn’t go, but she thought it sounded really boring anyway. It wasn’t even at the seaside!
Auntie Alice had lots to do, so she said she would start Emily on a sewing project. It was far too cold to go outside. Bill and Bob had gone away for the weekend and Henry was busy with his family.
What would she like to do?
Would she like to make some doll’s clothes or start a patchwork project?
There are lots of different patterns you can use for patchwork. You can use left over fabric or go and buy some fabric especially to use for your project.
You can just sew squares of fabric together or colour coordinate some squares to create a special colour theme. Always start a new craft with easy projects and work towards more difficult ones later.
Or you can use hexagons instead of squares. These hexagons look like flowers.
These hexagons create an optical illusion.
Or you could make more complicated patterns with different shapes that fit together like these squares and triangles.
You might want to use shades of the same colour to create what looks like shadows to create a kind of three-dimensional look.
Choosing colours carefully creates interesting patterns.
You can use patchwork to make quilts and cushions but also other items as well.
Working with friends can make anything more fun.
In the end, Emily decided to do some embroidery. If you have never sewn before, using a specially designed kit with pictures in it can be fun and easy to use.
If you don’t have a kit, you can get some Aida fabric and begin by practising back stitch on it. The fabric has lots of holes so you know where you can push your needle through.
You may want to start by making simple shapes like a fish with a square eye or an owl with two square eyes.
Then you can work your way up to more complicated patterns. Don’t start off with things that are too difficult, because if they go wrong, you will get despondent and discouraged.
Whatever project you decide to make, you must always plan it carefully.
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Quick Quiz
These are short forms of which names?
The names are also names of monarchs from history.
- Betty
- Hal
- Ted
- Bill
- Dick
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE A SMOCK DRESS FOR A 12” DOLL
This is a very pretty smock dress to wear around the house on a lazy day.
Normally, when you divide your stitches at the front of a garment to work on a neck or collar, you will need to put the set of stitches you are not working on, on a spare needle or even better, a stitch holder; but with such a small item of work, this will not be necessary for this project.
BACK (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and yellow dk yarn cast on 21 stitches
Knit 4 rows of garter stitch
Knit 40 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 4 rows of stocking stitch
Slip 1 (knit 1, purl 1) repeat the last 2 stitches to the end of the row
Slip 1 (purl 1, knit 1) repeat the last 2 stitches to the end of the row
Repeat the last 2 rows once
Knit 14 rows of stocking stitch
Cast off
FRONT (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and yellow dk yarn cast on 21 stitches
Knit 4 rows of garter stitch
Knit 40 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 4 rows of stocking stitch (17sts)
Slip 1 (knit 1, purl 1) repeat the last 2 stitches to the end of the row
Slip 1 (purl 1, knit 1) repeat the last 2 stitches to the end of the row
Repeat the last 2 rows once
Knit 8 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 8 stitches
Turn – and work only on these first 8 stitches for now
Slip 1, knit 1, purl 6
Knit 1 row
Slip 1, knit 1, purl 6
Knit 1 row
Slip 1, knit 1, purl 6
Cast off
Rejoin your yarn to your work
Cast off 1 stitch (this is in the centre front of the dress)
Slip 1 purl-wise, purl 1, knit 6
Slip 1 purl-wise, purl 7
Repeat these 2 rows twice
Cast off
SLEEVES (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and yellow dk yarn cast on 12 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Cast on 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 4 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 14 rows of stocking stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
- Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together, sew the shoulders up for 1½cm from the sleeve side
- Attach the top of the sleeves to the shoulders
- Sew up the side and underarm seams
- Cut a length of yarn 45cm long to weave through the ribbing at the centre of the waist if you would like to pull the dress in
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.
It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.
Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
Quick Quiz Answers
- Betty – Elizabeth
- Hal – Henry
- Ted – Edward
- Bill – William
- Dick – Richard
Embroidery Stitches
