Four iconic British TV series — two from the seventies, two from the nineties. A little long in the tooth perhaps and lacking some of the bouncy lushness of a Bridgerton or Downton Abbey, but I like to think that these shows have a classic meets retro vibes feel that’s all their own. ~The House of Eliot Sisters Evie and Beatrice, brought up by a stick-in-the-mud father who gave them little in the way of niceties and education (their mother died giving birth to Evie) despite being an affluent physician, find themselves in dire straits when he dies. Turns…
Instructions for a Heatwave Maggie O’Farrell A family drama set against the infamous British heatwave of 1976. Robert Riordan, recently retired, husband to Gretta, gets up from the breakfast table one morning, leaves the house to buy a newspaper and doesn’t return. Gretta, the Irish matriarch of this family that has settled in London, calls her kids who then return home—including Aoife, the youngest, who hasn’t been seen in several years and currently lives in New York. From here we learn the backstories of each sibling and how they interact with each other. Michael Francis, a history teacher who put aside…
Jasper Conran’s stunning Dorset garden. The worst celebrity TV cameos ever! For some lovely, summery Wimbledon fashion see here and here. If you’re in the mood for a nostalgic look at the Royals at Wimbledon, see here While The Gilded Age doesn’t make my top 10 favourite period pieces, I enjoyed it nonetheless and will certainly be tuning in to the soon- to-be released second season. When all you want is spinach and you end up with a frog. A pleasant and engaging summer read with fairytale vibes. Bringing the wonderful world of Barbie to life. Apparently Americans are very,…
Does anybody remember Nordy Bars? They used to be served in the Nordstrom cafe and were something of a cult classic back in the eighties. I don’t believe they make them anymore. I recently stumbled upon the original recipe (courtesy of The Oregonian’s Food Day from way back when ) and in a fit of nostalgia decided to make them. The only problem with the bars — and it’s a big one really — is that the butterscotch chips taste unbearably fake. So I decided to retool them and use a combination of butter and brown sugar to get the…
~The Ocean At The End Of The Lane Neil Gaiman The beautiful, magical story of a seven year old (unnamed) boy who, unable to process the traumatic events of an adult world, turns all he sees into a kingdom of monsters and hunger birds, of worms coming out of his foot, little girls who might be eleven years old or a billion and a body of water which might be an ocean or a pond. It’s a lyrical and haunting embodiment of childhood fears and the struggle to comprehend the cruelties of a child’s landscape, fraught with loneliness and insecurities.…
~Harlots A show that fully embraces its inner sluttiness and flings it out into the world in full technicolour glory. The overarching storyline is a turf war between two rival brothel owners in late 1700’s London, who happen to share a very complicated past. Margaret Wells is unapologetic about her roots, views prostitution as a way (the only way) for women to gain financial independence and is not beneath auctioning off her daughter’s virginity to the highest bidder. Across town, Lydia Quigley, runs a much classier establishment with girls who dress elegantly, play the piano and speak French. Margaret and Lydia…
As a kid, Heinz Oxtail Soup was one of my favourite things to eat. It’s been a long time since I’ve had it (it’s unavailable in the US) — and it probably wouldn’t taste nearly as good as I remember it anyway — but I have never forgotten that sense of comfort it provided. And so, feeling a bit nostalgic, I decided to have a go at making my own — a version more suited to my grown up self. It’s not the simplest or quickest of recipes as it needs to be made over a couple of days (hence weekend…
~Say Nothing Patrick Radden Keefe A brilliantly written, hard to put down account of the Troubles in Northern Ireland between the 1960’s and 1998 Good Friday Agreement. At its centre is the story of Jean McConville, a 38 year old, recently widowed mother of ten who is kidnapped in front of her children and never seen again. With a back and forth timeline Keefe unravels the details of the kidnapping, setting it against the harrowing history of the IRA, Sinn Fein and the antagonism of Protestant Unions vs Catholic Republicans, while also giving the backstory of a myriad villains involved…
A whimsical English cottage of fairytale dreams. The Golden Globes returned for 2023. A brief history of its controversies. And talking of awards shows — I know that the women’s dresses get all the love, but can we please talk about how much fun the men are now having with their own clothes. So great to see. A brief interview with Nate of Ted Lasso. An 88-year old British mystery captivating modern readers. Amidst the uproar of a Prince’s memoir, 20 headlines comparing Kate and Meghan. Twenty-five of the best British movies of the last decade. And in recently released…
When the skies are grey, when the world, despite so many bodies crushed together, feels like a vast and lonely place, when life feels irreparably off kilter, rice pudding can always be relied upon to set everything to rights. Rice pudding is British nursery food at its very best. As a child I would visit my grandparents in Wales each summer with my family and this is one dessert that I always remember my Nana making. As an adult, and without her recipe, I attempted to make my own. Nana baked hers so that’s where I too, began. The only…
