The victim of a witch-hunt during the McCarthy era in the United States, Chaplin was already in his 60s when, in 1953, he chose to live in exile in Switzerland with his family. But the artist did not retire. He continued to make films, composed the musical scores to accompany re-releases of his silent movies and wrote his autobiography.
The Manoir de Ban is now destined to become the "Charlie Chaplin Heritage Site". A museum devoted to the film pioneer and the early days of Hollywood, the site will also include a movie theatre, an outdoor stage and a film school. "There had been plans for a museum in London and for one in Hollywood," says Chaplin, the driving force behind the Swiss proposal. "So when we came up with the idea for the Manoir de Ban, we had to persuade everyone that Switzerland was the best place - in the house where he spent the last 25 years of his life."
Lauren broke her wrist this week, falling from the monkey bars on which she was hanging upside down by her legs. She's a brave girl and on the mend now.