a day in the life of roger moore
A day in the life of Roger Moore "When it gets to five or six in the morning, I wonder why I've been awake so long. I wake in the middle of the night and have a terrible job getting back to sleep. It's all very well saying "Concentrate on one thing," but I have 4,000 thoughts. It's my mind. Always hyperactive. In Switzerland, the English papers don't arrive until the afternoon. I turn on the television from my bed, as I enjoy watching the BBC news. I once met Simon McCoy [the BBC news presenter] and he often wears the unique tie I sent him. We have breakfast on trays, which Kristina prepares. There are wonderful blood oranges here, so I drink a glass with vitamin C added for good measure. That's to wash down my pills for hypertension and the handful of feel good vitamins. You read something in the Daily Mail that says "You'll live for ever if you take this," so I get it. I'm very susceptible to what is life-prolonging. A teaspoon of bee pollen for energy, two pieces of the local paillasse bread,
toasted, with jam or Golden Shred — don't like thick chunks of marmalade. And no butter — or Marmite either, because of the sodium. Then I shower — or, if I missed out on the tabloids the day before, soak in a hot bath for 45 minutes. I also like a bath in the afternoons when I've a fresh paper to read. It's the tabloids in the bath because you can open them, the Telegraph when I'm upright. I love the Telegraph crossword, and one day I'll finish it. My mind's more attuned to the Telegraph's compilers as opposed to ...
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toasted, with jam or Golden Shred — don't like thick chunks of marmalade. And no butter — or Marmite either, because of the sodium. Then I shower — or, if I missed out on the tabloids the day before, soak in a hot bath for 45 minutes. I also like a bath in the afternoons when I've a fresh paper to read. It's the tabloids in the bath because you can open them, the Telegraph when I'm upright. I love the Telegraph crossword, and one day I'll finish it. My mind's more attuned to the Telegraph's compilers as opposed to the Times'. I know all the short cuts and clues. And I read the obituaries — most important, in case I'm mentioned, in which case I'm not going to bother getting up. If I'm not going out, I put on a tracksuit, but if we're skiing or walking then it's thermals, ski gear or cords and a sweater. Last year I had to stop doing my sit-ups and usual work-out because of my back. I slipped on the ice outside our house and was concussed. Also, my back's been bashed about over the years from filming: thrown against walls during fight sequences, falling down stairs — and that was when I was sober. For insurance purposes, when I made films I wasn't able to ski, and I didn't learn until I was 50. I had this fear that I'd break something. Well, I haven't broken anything skiing, but I have become a little cautious since I had a pacemaker fitted. I don't want someone crashing into me and upsetting its workings. I've gone back to cross-country skiing, which I started when I first moved here 26 years ago. I enjoy being active, and I like to walk — unlike my father. He'd been a police officer, and by the age of 56, when my mother would say, "Come on, George, lets go for a stroll," he'd reply, "I've done enough bloody walking in my life, woman," and he never did again. Whether there's snow or the fields are muddy, it's beautiful here. Nature is lovely and we're privileged to inhale clean air and drink water straight out of the tap. Just think: in the next valley they're putting it in bottles and calling it Evian. I also enjoy the peace and the non-intrusiveness of the locals. I invariably have to fight my way through mounds of paperwork in my office to get to my computer and reply to e-mails from America which have come in overnight. Unicef, mainly — requests from various national committees that contact me directly. This sometimes annoys head office in New York, as they like to know what's being asked of me. Or there might be research I have to do into infant-mortality rates, Aids, micronutrient deficiencies, neonatal tetanus, etc, for the speeches I give when I'm travelling. And then, of course, I field requests for films, as I am very much in demand! Last week I was even asked to be a spokesperson for erectile dysfunction in the States — three weeks of radio and TV. It's bad enough having to talk about your movies. But I turned down a lot of money. Normally we stay home for lunch and make a salad. Mache, rocket, carrots, fresh avocado and a Dijon vinaigrette and a wonderful black pepper we were given on a trip for Unicef in Cambodia. If my trousers aren't feeling too tight then, we might go to the Mont Blanc restaurant, which has a wonderful fish buffet, or to the Dent Blanche for raclette — cheese melted on new potatoes. If we do that, then we stay in at night. I can exist on an egg or fruit, which means you, can indulge at another meal. I like that. Most afternoons I'm either at the computer or finishing the crossword. Or sometimes we'll watch an old movie on video. I recently did a design for a charity called 21st Century Leaders. They've asked celebrities around the world to draw a design expressing themselves and what they hope for the world. I did an array of coloured hearts to symbolise world peace, with myself as a stick figure. The designs will be printed onto ceramics and sold to charities. Staying in at night means I get to watch Holby City or The Bill, to which I'm addicted. Occasionally we'll watch a video — I have a huge collection. Lawrence of Arabia is my all-time favourite, and recently I watched Monster, which I thought was wonderful. I like to get to bed early. Getting off to sleep, I think about my children, Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian — their issues, successes, whatever. I try and speak to them all once a day, find out what they're up to, because I am curious. And then I think I fall asleep."
