"It is a sure sign of troubled minds, the habit of quotation," writes Hilary Mantel in the new novel Wolf Hall. This fiction – all about Thomas Cromwell, the second adviser to Henry VIII in the unfortunate Anne Boleyn affair, has won the Man Booker prize for 2009.

I have loved reading it although the author took no pity on the reader and one is hard-pressed to know who is speaking in some chapters that jump around in time and space, with an abundance of personal pronouns so you have to work out who is speaking. I suppose this sort of ambiguity is what puts a book up for the Booker Prize.

In spite of this, I highly recommend Wolf Hall, especially if you are a history buff.

***

Now, for sure, Paul McCartney, born back in 1942, is no idol of young and medium-aged and old girls in the same hysterical manner as Robert Pattison or Taylor Lautner are in their latest blood-sucking vampire films.

But Paul, the last of the important Beatles left alive for us, is still a pop target. However, he and his new girlfriend, Nancy Shevell, walked into a local luncheonette/deli on Lexington Ave. and East 83rd the other noon, hoping for eggs, bacon and pancakes.

They appeared like regular Joes in this spot that still makes lime rickeys and egg creams – New York delicacies that are fast disappearing. This place is a favorite for celebs and old-world neighbors who know the difference between pastrami and corned beef. Nobody bothered to bother them.

Paul was wearing a beautiful blue blazer and scarf. Nancy was in jeans and oversize gorgeous sweater. She had no makeup visible and is really attractive. This is a place loved by Martha Stewart, whose favorite is a triple-decker turkey club. You don’t want to miss the Lexington Candy Shoppe, so-named.

Paul’s new DVD, Good Evening New York City, shows him on the cover wearing a white shirt with suspenders. Hmm. Not impressive. Maybe he should have borrowed Mick Jagger’s military jacket now on display at the Columbus Circle Time Warner Center.



***

One of my personal favorite human beings is Martin Sheen, who has returned to Spain to visit the land of his father. (The latter was born in Tui (Galicia) on July 2, 1898.)

Martin, the all-American star who played the most appealing president this country has ever seen in "The West Wing" series, has been shooting a film in Spain, written and directed by his son Emilio Estevez. This is a story about "El Camino de Santiago," also known in English as "The Way of St. James." It is a collection of the famous pilgrimage routes covering Europe that have existed for over 1000 years in Europe.

Emilio is working with his dad for the third time and calls him "my favorite actor, my inspiration and the best colleague I’ve ever had." Martin finds the experience "an internal spiritual trip for anyone whether they are Catholic or not." Martin has already taken a part of the route with his grandson and a friend and hopes to do all of it. "It would take three months to really do it!"


Some of the famous have done this trek – Shirley MacLaine walked the 500 miles from the French village of Saint Jean de Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela at age 60. This was back in 1994 and she wrote a book about it. Michael Douglas is also a member of the Order of the Way of St. James.

"The Way" also stars the Canadian actress Deborah Kara Unger, the Dutch actor Yorick van Wageningen and the Irish actor James Nesbitt. In this particular story, Martin plays a California doctor who travels to Spain to scatter the ashes of his son along the Way. The boy had died during a storm in the Pyrenees.


Sheen wept when the producer told him that the Church had given permission for the crew to film in the Cathedral of Santiago. "I was thrilled and happy. This has been impossible for years," says Martin.