Penning on Polo

Carpinteria artist Robyn Geddes is not only putting paint to canvas, but pen to paper, launching a new monthly newsletter at the Santa Barbara Polo Club condos.

Robyn, who I have known for more than four decades since he worked with Andy Warhol at The Factory in New York, is a board member at the bucolic locale of 139 homes overlooking the hallowed Holden Field and Pacific Ocean.

The image-rich newsletter, which debuted last month, is being published 12 times annually with columns on polo by longtime club member Nigel Gallimore and Diana Lippert.

“The board asked for a volunteer to start a publication for condo owners, and I agreed,” says Robyn. “The response so far has been very good.

“It is online, sent to residents and shared with others of similar interests.”

Maybe Not the Bench Mark?

Meghan Markle may be celebrating a new baby daughter, Lilibet Diana, but it’s a safe bet she isn’t at all happy with the reviews of her new children’s book, The Bench.

Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have panned the book, with one suggesting it was “bland” with “no story,” while another shamed it as “a grammar-defying set of badly rhyming cod homilies.”

The critic for the London Times, Alex O’Connell, described it as “like a self-help manual for needy parents.”

The Duchess of Sussex’s debut book, for which she reportedly received a $700,000 advance, was inspired by a poem she wrote for Prince Harry’s first Father’s Day the month after Archie was born and explains the special bond between father and son as “seen through a mother’s eyes.”

Despite the harsh reviews, The Bench has crept on to the Amazon bestseller list, reaching No. 40 in the rankings.

What’s Up, Gramps?

Oscar winner Michael Douglas, son of the late Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas, was mistaken for his daughter Carys’ grandfather at her high school graduation last month.

Michael, 76, a former resident of our rarefied enclave, who shares Carys, 18, and Dylan, 20, with Welsh actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, 51, revealed the embarrassing incident on Kelly Clarkson’s TV talk show.

“It was a little rough, but I’m not taking it personally as other parents at the ceremony were just trying to be nice.”