This is actually from last Friday - our last morning in Orford, doing my Morning Pages and having coffee with the magpie that visited us each morning we were there. It was very friendly and made me think I’d like a neighbourhood magpie at home. I know they swoop on the mainland but they don’t tend to down here….that I know of!
Another strange week, despite the joy and fun of the last, so we’ve tried to prioritise having some Mental Health Days, which has helped. As stated previously, the Philippa Moore Way is not to dwell (too much) on the less-than-ideal but to focus on the good, because there is always some to be found.
Favourite experience of the week
Having a dear friend round for dinner on Easter Monday, who made us laugh and smile. I do love entertaining and cooking for people, but the omicron surge has put a (hopefully) temporary stop to that. But we had negative RATs after the wedding so round she came. We had a nut roast feast and I even sent her off with leftovers!
I also enjoyed, as part of aforementioned Mental Health Day, just sitting and reading a book for hours one afternoon. It’s something I don’t allow myself to do very often, unless it’s a PhD-related book, but in that case my brain is in work mode rather than relaxed. It felt nice to be relaxed.
New mug who dis?
Looking forward to
A dear friend’s wedding this weekend. Digging up my potatoes. A few unavoidable things being dealt with and behind us.
Reading
Three-Martini Afternoons at The Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton by Gail Crowther - this is the book I sat down with and lost myself in for a few hours, during which I finished it. It was uplifting and hilarious on one page, then heartbreaking and rage-inducing (most of them involving Ted Hughes, the bastard) on the next. A brilliant book for two brilliant women who were so ahead of their time and who deserve to be remembered and read in more nuanced ways that better reflect the complex, rebellious and brave women they actually were. Loved it!
Think on the Page by Sarah Firth - I bought this as a birthday gift for Tom last year and I finally read it myself this week. Sarah was one of the few people on Instagram who made me feel joyous and creative, so I do miss her. She’s one of my favourite artists and this book has lots of wisdom and observations about the complexities of modern life that are funny, relatable and deeply intelligent.
Sydney Review of Books: Lost Weather by Louis Klee
Meanjin: Joy by Anna Spargo-Ryan
Jack Monroe: It’s Not About The Pasta, Kevin - Jack Monroe is a courageous and well-known activist for poverty issues in the UK, particularly hunger relief, and I’ve followed their work for a long time. This post is a long read but an important one and, in true Jack style, pulls no punches (and nor should it).
Listening to
BBC Sounds - World Piano Day - Interview with Ludovico Einaudi: thank you to reader Helen for alerting me to this. It was a great interview and Ludovico played “Flora” off his new album, which was utterly beautiful.
As a result, I have been playing Underwater non-stop. Perfect for meditation, writing, or just sitting.
I’ve also been playing the new album from Lisa Mitchell, A Place to Fall Apart, out today!
The Shift: Philippa Perry takes issue with your inner critic and Esther Freud on motherhood, guilt and upending your life in your 50s (I enjoyed both but particularly this one).
Best Friend Therapy: this may be my new favourite podcast. I caught up on the last three episodes on my walks this week and particularly enjoyed the Shoulds and Oughts episode. I had to pause and sit several times during that one to take in the truth bombs as they landed.
Grounded with Louis Theroux: Interview with Fka Twigs which was quite incredible. The grounded, intelligent and utterly perfect answers she gave to some very weird questions had me almost punching the air on my walk this morning. Thank you Sophie for alerting me to this! Any creative person who just wants to do their own thing will get a lot out of listening to this.
Eating
I haven’t had a great appetite this week, but that hasn’t stopped me eating All The Chocolate. We discovered Lindt’s vegan milk chocolate is now available in Australia too, which is delicious!
In addition to aforementioned nut roast (which was actually still in the freezer from Christmas), I made Pip Lincolne’s Pumpkin-y Lamb Casserole (pictured) but obviously there was no lamb - I used chickpeas and mushrooms instead, and tarragon instead of parsley (so it was probably nothing like Pip’s original recipe!). OMG this was SO incredibly delicious. For such a simple recipe, it’s full of flavour. I was seriously bowled over by its subtle spicy sauce and the sweetness from the tomatoes and pumpkin. I will be adding this to my regular repertoire for winter, I think it will work with pretty much any root vegetable. Also, as it was meat-free it only needed to cook for just under an hour, not 90 minutes. Bonus!
I also made a tempeh banh mi (pictured right) for lunch one day this week, which was insanely good. And surprisingly easy to whip up quickly when we got back from town, hungry, with a fresh baguette. I was suddenly seized with the desire to do something other than slather avocado and dukkah on it. And I also wanted to start using all the pickled vegetables in the fridge. I’ll write up the recipe next week, as it will be made again!
Picking
The last red tomatoes and some kale and silverbeet. The potatoes aren’t quite ready yet but will be very soon. There’s lots of green tomatoes left on the vines so I may end up picking them to ripen inside.
Watching
Spider-Man: No Way Home - a great popcorn flick, as they say. The plot is a bit scatty, with a lot of plates in the air, but I did enjoy it, particularly when the two previous Spideys turn up (Tom, who saw it in the cinema, said the audience went wild at that moment!). I found the scene where Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man prevents Tom Holland’s Spider-Man from avenging his aunt’s death (sorry for those who haven’t seen it!) very moving. I’ve been doing a lot of reading about transactional analysis and so I interpreted Maguire’s Spider-Man as the younger one’s older, wiser self stepping in to guide him to a better choice. That made me cry, admittedly.
Antoinette dans les Cévennes (English title: My Donkey, My Lover and I) (iTunes) - an utterly charming French film with my favourite actor of the moment, Laure Calamy, in the title role of Antoinette, a primary school teacher who is having an affair with the father of one of her students. When the lovers’ plan of a week alone together during the summer holidays is thwarted by the man’s wife surprising him with a walking holiday in the Cévennes, Antoinette is devastated….and decides to go on the same holiday herself, with a stubborn donkey as her companion. It’s as hilarious as it sounds.
Run Fatboy Run - an old favourite that I’ve seen so many times, as it used to be the film Tom and I would watch the night before a race. For a period of time, we would watch it every weekend! But I hadn’t seen it in many years and it’s still very, very funny and a real comfort watch. My long distance running days were a happy time in our lives and I remember how patient and supportive Tom was, coming along to every race of mine all over the country, without complaint, always with a smile on his face, cheering me on. I still feel very grateful for that support. And I of course went for a run the next morning, you can’t not!
Julia (Binge) - I mentioned the first episode in a previous This Week saying I wasn’t that impressed by it. I will now, pun intended, eat my words. After reading a Guardian review, we were encouraged to give it another chance and I’m glad we did. We’re now all caught up and impatient for the next instalment! I stand by some of my original thoughts but I’m slowly being won over, especially by Sarah Lancashire’s performance. I’m also appreciating that some of the characters are possibly meant to be emblematic of some social mores of the time, rather than accurate reflections of the real people. It’s very enjoyable either way.
Call My Agent! (Dix pour cent)(Netflix) - we have only three episodes left! What will we do?!
Creative Mornings Global: Nina Elizabeth Lyrispect Ball talks about Roots - I was a keen member of the London chapter of this organisation when I lived there, and their newsletters are always worth a leaf through. There is always at least one nugget of gold in there. This time it was this wonderful talk from Nina Elizabeth Lyrispect Ball, well worth watching with your morning coffee to get you set up for a day of creating and serving!
“Give the same energy, no matter what. If you’re an artist, you’re an artist. It’s not about who’s responding or how many people are clapping, but what is coming from your soul.”
Wearing
A smile, despite everything! And a Loki t-shirt which I picked up for a bargain.
Thinking about
On my walk this morning, I noticed a wheelchair user not just having to dodge wheelie bins that were out for collection scattered all over the pavement but those fucking scooters just dumped there too. He ended up having to go into the road to continue on his way to wherever he was going. Nearby I also noticed a car parked at the top of a driveway rather than further down it, so it was blocking that section of the pavement. Again, a wheelchair user would have to go into the road (a busy main road, I might add) to pass, likewise anyone with a pram. Why don’t people think about this?! Admittedly I never used to notice this sort of thing as much as I do now. Perhaps it’s been reading more disabled writers, being a bit more conscious of ableism…I’m not sure. Regardless, I’m pretty appalled at the fairly consistent lack of consideration for everyday accessibility that I witness, not just this morning but in general. It’s not good enough. I will have a think about what I could do to help change things.
Quote of the week
“Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” - Rainer Maria Rilke
If you’d like to share your thoughts on this post with me, please do! Otherwise, stay tuned for another exciting instalment next week xx