Introduccion En La Estrategia

Richard Curtis

NOTTING HILL
Chapter 1

Just Another Wednesday Morning?
It was a fine spring morning. William Thacker was looking out of his window, thinking about life. ‘Notting Hill – not a bad place to be’, he thought. On weekdays, there was the market, selling fruit and vegetables from all over the world. At the weekend, even more people crowded into Portobello Road and the streetsaround it to buy expensive old furniture, paintings and cheap clothes. Then there were the unusual shops, the cafés and restaurants. The streets were always busy, always full of people. But best of all, this was the place where most of his friends now lived. Notting Hill was like a small village in the middle of a big city. And in this London village, William Thacker had his home. His wife lived inanother part of town. Well, she was his wife until two years earlier. Then she left him for a man who looked like Harrison Ford. So in the house with the blue front door, William, twenty-eight years old and single, now lived a strange half-life with his Welsh lodger, Spike. ‘Hey, can you help me with and important decision?”, Spike walked into the room. He was a tall, thin, pale man with dirtyyellow hair and untidy clothes. ‘I’m going out with the great Janine tonight and I want to wear the right T-shirt’. ‘What have you got?’, asked William, trying to show interest. Spike pulled on a T-shirt. On the front, an alien was swimming in a sea of blood above the words I Love Blood. ‘Well, there’s this one?’. ‘Hmmm… I’m not sure it’s romantic enough’, William said thoughtfully. ‘Yes… maybe you’reright’. Spike ran up the stairs, still talking. ‘I know you’ll like this one’. He came back wearing a second T-shirt. Take Me!, read the words on the front, in big, black letters. ‘Well’, said William slowly, ‘will she think you’re looking for true love? I’m not sure that she will’. ‘Oh, I don’t want her to get the wrong idea! OK, just one more’. He came down in the last T-shirt. Below little redhearts, it read: You’re the most beautiful woman in the world. William showed his surprise. ‘Yes’, he said. ‘That’s perfect. Well done!’. ‘Thanks. Great. I’m feeling lucky!’. Spike smiled. He turned and walked proudly upstairs. On the back of the T-shirt, William could now read: Let’s go to bed.

‘Oh, Spike…’, he sighed to himself. It was just another Wednesday, another working day. Williamwalked through the market and opened the door to his shop, The Travel Book Company. It was a small shop that sold… well, travel books. But he never seemed to sell many. Inside, there were a few small rooms full of shelves, and every shelf was heavy with books – expensive books, cheap books, large hardbacks and small paperbacks. William greeted Martin, his assistant. A small man with a beard and anervous smile, Martin always tried to see the best in life. He liked to please people, but was not very good at selling. In fact, people often thought he was a little strange. William started looking at some papers on his desk. ‘Great. Last week we made nothing! In fact, we lost ₤347 on those guidebooks to Turkey…’ ‘Oh dear. Never mind. Shall I go and get us some coffee? Make you feel better?’,Martin asked, smiling. As he left for the café, a woman came into the shop. William looked up at her, looked down, thought for a minute, then looked up again. She was a beautiful young woman with long, black hair, dressed simply in a black jacket and trousers. He was sure he knew her. Was it possible? Could it really be her? Yes, it was Anna Scott, the biggest film star in the world! To William – tomost men – she was the most beautiful woman on Earth. He tried to stay calm. ‘Can I help you?’ She looked at him through her dark glasses. ‘No, thanks. I’ll just look around’. His eyes followed her as she went over to a shelf. She picked out a large, expensive guidebook full of colour photographs. ‘That book’s really not good… er… if you’re thinking of buying it’, he said, a little nervously....