Emma Thompson loves pink

When I arrived home from school today the first thing I saw was an envelope addressed to me propped up on the table. I immediately recognised the scratchy handwriting as my own. Did I in a moment of madness post myself a letter? "Dear Libby, go and eat some cake, you deserve it." I wouldn't put it completely past me, but it seemed unlikely. As I was thinking I suddenly remembered back to last year, when I fed a pile of envelopes into the post box, addressed to everyone from the Queen to Judi Dench. (At the time I liked to imagine the post man opening the letter box and rifling through the envelopes: Madonna, Joanna Lumley, the editor of Vogue...) Each envelope contained a questionnaire I had made to gain quotes for 'Love Pink', and a self addressed, stamped envelope. The journalists and celebrities I was writing to must lead incredibly busy lives; I wanted to make it as easy as possible for them to reply.

I was overwhelmed by how many responses I received, considering I expected only a handful. But despite the replies I did receive (which ended up in the book), there were naturally dissapointments. After all I did send out over 50 letters. (I spent about a week hand writing all the envelopes, thinking that they would be more likely to be opened if they weren't impersonally typed.)

The replies arrived in surges, some within the first few weeks, some the next few months. A year later, and this envelope caught me by surprise. Opening it up and seeing Emma Thompson's name surprised me even more. Perhaps the response is a little late, but I love the fact she still replied. To me it makes me think that she must receive a huge amount of letters but still wades through them all. Mine must have been at the bottom of the pile, but it still got opened and replied to.

Emma Thompson thinks the colour pink would smell like babies. I agree. Soft, warm and with a hint of Johnson's baby oil.

For now Emma Thompson's letter sits proudly on my dressing table, but then it shall join all my other replies in my prized folder full of 'Love Pink' things.

P.S If you can't read them clearly, the questions in the questionnaire are:

1) What is your favourite pink item you own (I like her sense of humour!)

2) What is your favourite pink flower? (Roses were a popular favourite)

3) What would the colour pink smell like?

Libby