20 years on, Britain remembers Diana’s shocking death
WITH celebrity couples often ending up in splits-ville, this tech-savvy generation came up with the hashtag # to remind one another that relationships—no matter how promising or seemingly “made in heaven”—shouldn’t be expected to last. Think Brangelina.
Refreshingly though, prime further takes pride that her past time stars Bea Alonzo, Ian Venrelationships have all been longeracion and Iza Calzado of the ABS-CBN hit series “A Love To “Also, expectations should Last” beg to differ. not be high all
Speaking to the media at the the time bepress conference for their show’s cause they can be looking and talented trio declared very they believe love can last—or at disapleast “be prolonged”—with the pointhelp of vital virtues. ing
Veneracion, who has been happily married non-showbiz wife Pam Gallardo for 20 years now, cited the importance of respect and patience.
“I think couples must have respect for each other’s individuality. More importantly, they must have a bottomless pit of patience, which my wife definitely has,” chuckled the 42-year-old actor.
Calzado, on the other hand, believes that besides loving each other, an enduring relationship is possible with “respect, trust, understanding, communication and compromise.”
And indeed, the 35- yearold speaks from experience what with a successful sixyear relationship with English businessman Ben Wittle going from strength to strength. She if not met. We have to learn to manage them,” the award-winning actress added. Although the youngest of the bunch, Alonzo had a single tip to share, which she confessed she learned not only from her previous relationships, but also from her character Andrea in A Love to Last. “I’d say one important ingredient to a long-lasting relationship is to never give up on love or on somebody you love. Once you commit to your r partner, you should be e able stand up for him no mat becomes,” the 29-year-old, who is currently in a “special relationship” with Gerald Anderson, noted. Alonzo’s take is certainly lifted from the series where her character is learning how hard it is to be married to Anton (Veneracion) what with his meddling ex- wife Grace (Calzado) and their children who are still adjusting to the situation. Likewise, in the story, Anton finds it dif sentiments of his second wife, which Veneracion said he is learning from as a husband in real life. “I could say that playing Anton for the past eight months has taught me how different a male’s perspective is Iza Calzado from that of a female. For example, while reading the script, I’d often ask Bea if in real life she would really sulk over something I would yes,” he explained.
From such encounters in the series, Veneracion realized how men can be very insensitive to the female perceptions sometimes.
“We operate very differently, and maybe that’s why they say, ‘ men are from Mars and women are from Venus,’ at least in the way we communicate,” he offered.
The bottom line is, to make a relationship last, Calzado, Veneracion and Alonzo agree that both sides have to put in the effort and compromise if they believe their partner or spouse is worth it.
It is these takeaways from A Love To Last that have certainly made the series relatable to prime time audiences, so much so that they have stayed on top of the ratings game since premiering in January. Boosting the fame of the trio even more, in fact, a concert spin-off of the program will be held on September 8 at Kia Theater at Cubao’s Araneta Center in Quezon City.
Titled, “# LoveGoals: A Love to Last Concert,” the cast will mostly sing songs by Jose Mari Chan, which have served as their soundtrack on prime time.
“We’re really overwhelmed by the success of the show, which makes us very excited to thank our fans in the coming concert. We hope to see everyone there,” Veneracion ended.
Friends and fans of Diana, princess of Wales mourned the 20th anniversary of her death on Thursday (Friday in Manila), with Elton John saying the world “lost an angel” when she was killed in a tragic car crash.
She was just 36 at the time, with her death in Paris triggering an unprecedented outpouring of grief across Britain.
Two decades on, the aura of the selfstyled “queen of hearts” remains strong.
“20 years ago today, the world lost an angel,” pop star John, a friend of Diana’s who worked with her on AIDS awareness, said on Instagram next to a picture of the two of them. He memorably sang “Candle In The Wind” at her funeral.
Her close friend Rosa Monckton said: “She broke down the walls. She busted the myth of being a fairytale princess.
“She was a truly extraordinary woman,” Monckton told newspaper.
“Very damaged, very flawed, as we all are, but underneath it all this incredible resilience.”
Diana was remembered at the Mildmay Mission AIDS hospital in London, which she regularly visited when it was a hospice caring for HIV patients.
The princess shaking hands with sufferers was transformative in breaking down stigmas around the disease.
Well-wishers laid flowers and candles outside Kensington Palace, her London residence where her sons Princes William and Harry now live.
A couple in Union Jack clothing were among the first to arrive on Thursday at the palace gates and hundreds filed past during the day.
“I don’t think there’s anyone else like her now, she was a one off... She was electric, she was just dynamite,” said Ian, a receptionist from Hertfordshire, north of London.
Diana died along with Dodi Fayed, her wealthy Egyptian boyfriend of two months, and his driver Henri Paul, who was trying to shake off paparazzi photographers.
Overnight, a handful of people had braved the rain in Paris to visit the Pont de l’Alma tunnel where her car smashed into a pillar at 12:23am on August 31, 1997, ending the life of the world’s most famous woman.
Diana was “revolutionary,” said Sian Croston, a 17-year-old student from London who was visiting the gold-leaf Flame of Liberty monument that stands above the underpass and has become something of a shrine to the princess. “She changed the royal family forever. “She will always be the people’s princess,” she said, using an epithet coined at the time by then prime minister Tony Blair. Elton John, in remembering his friend on Thursday, said, ‘ The world lost an angel’