If We Were Having Coffee (20 Oct, 2020)
Good morning, pals! I hope the onset of autumn is treating you all well - don’t forget, the clocks go back (in the UK and Europe) this weekend. When they went forward, at the end of March, I somehow thought ‘all this’ might be nearly over by now. More fool me. Anyway, if we were having coffee in a local cake shop, I’d be telling you about:
I’ve been a long-time listener to the podcast Call Your Girlfriend and this week I have been telling everyone about something Aminatou Sow said in their last episode, How We’re Coping, about how different this season of the pandemic is to the start. I realised that part of what I’ve been scared of as the numbers go up again is being as terrified as I was in March - especially, as she mentions, the week from about the 11th or 12th of the month. At that time, it was clear that things were going very wrong, and yet the pubs were still open and full. We didn’t really know if surface transmission was a thing and mask-wearing wasn’t normal yet. Now, by comparison, we know a lot more about how the virus spreads, and, more importantly, we know how to do lockdown. Businesses have switched seamlessly back to delivery and pick-up, coffee shops have already got distanced queue markers outside, and my colleagues and I are in the habit of working from home. It gave me an immense confidence that even though the numbers are looking bad and the nights are closing in, I won’t ever be as non-specifically terrified (‘the fear of fear itself’) as I was in March. I hope you can get that same confidence!
Moving on from the serious stuff! Part of getting through this has been building a routine that works for me - from working out most mornings (I’ve told you about EMKfit before) to winding down with Pukka’s Chamomile, Vanilla, and Honey tea at night. I will set the kettle going and then take the time the tea is brewing to set up my coffee machine for the next morning and brush my teeth, then tuck in with a book and a mug of calming tea.
I’m also leaning into the change of the seasons even harder than usual - especially now I can dress like a student instead of having to be office-ready! As part of that, I’ve invested in a gorgeous sweater by Pip & Pine for Hunting For Autumn.
So tempted by the coffee one too. (NB - they come up really big, I’m size 16ish and a L is very roomy on me).For when I do want to get dressed properly, I’ve dragged out all my flippy dresses to be worn with big zombie-kicking boots (If I didn’t have a pair from last year, these would be on their way to me already). I recently made the discovery that ethical brand Nobody’s Child is now available via M&S (already one of the best high-street options from an ethics point of view) and this dress is on the list of things I want to try when I next do an order from there. For something longer, I love this one too. Especially in autumn and winter, I have two possible ‘modes’ when it comes to clothing: flippy dress and boots, or skinny jeans and cosy sweater.
I’m not going to mention the ‘C’ word - but as time has passed, my mind has moved to gift-giving. I’m a knitter, but I’m pretty selfish, and very rarely knit something specifically for another person (babies excepted) - but when a friend commented on this picture of a pair of Inglis mitts I just finished I was really happy to offer to pop them in the post for her.
In all fairness, I am pretty sure I promised her a handknit phone sock back when we were 14, and never delivered on that…
I’ve mentioned Rachel Syme’s #penpalooza before and wanted to share this gorgeous Medium article about letter-writing by Alex Veeneman. The magic of having hand-addressed letters from all over the world drop through the door cannot be beaten. I had a particularly great post day earlier this week - a couple of letters from pen-pals and these two pre-ordered books, along with swag! They are the newest from Laura Wood and Jenny Colgan, and I can’t wait to dig into them.
I have another Empty to share with you all - The Body Shop’s banana hair conditioner. It’s Curly Girl friendly - I have been doing an edited version of the Curly Girl method for the last few months and my hair has never looked better.
As well as leaning into Autumn with my clothes, I have been making the most of it in my cooking too. Earlier this week I made this bowl of comfort: butternut squash polenta from Elly Pear’s Green, topped with pan-roasted veg from Katy Beskow’s 15-Minute Vegan On A Budget.
Another dinner this week was enabled by a simple paella pan I picked up at Elliotts Edinburgh’s new shop at 21 Sciennes Road - frittata! I roasted the red pepper and potatoes in olive oil and tagine paste and then covered them with eggs and creme fraiche. Absolutely delicious.
Lastly, I want to tell you about a book that I raced through last week: Soraya M Lane’s The Last Correspondent. Based on the true story that journalist Martha Gellhorn snuck onto a hospital ship after having been denied access to the official press boat carrying the lines of Ernest Hemingway, and by that method was able to be the only news correspondent actually on the beach to witness the D-Day landings, this book follows three women. One is an experienced war photographer, one is a newer journalist, and one is the sister of another journalist - all trying to get through the chaos and violence of Normandy in 1944. I used to read a lot of war-adventure books as a teenager but haven’t for a while, and this reminded me why I liked the genre so much. I like to read about the sides of war I haven’t previously been taught about - and to this end can also recommend Code Name Verity, Everyone Brave is Forgiven, and All The Light We Cannot See.
In more evidence of the continually-shocking passing of time, next week is Halloween! So I will be trying to put together a couple of Halloween-y bakes and other items for next week’s newsletter.
Stay safe, friends!
Lily
Find me on Instagram: @LilyMCooks
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