The Year of Living Gorgeously

A quiet end to February

A Captain from Westpoint was visiting an airbase in the UK during WWII. David Booth was a Spitfire pilot stationed there, who grumbled and sulked on a Friday night when he was given the job of entertaining the Captain's daughter. He met Anne that evening and the pair were inseperable throughout her father's week long tour. The story goes that she never went back to the US and they were married almost immediately.

This beautiful married couple lived opposite my family home in Cheltenham, heading the Neighbourhood Watch and generally being fabulously lovely. In the absence of living or nice grandparents, they became surrogates to me and my three siblings, coming to all our variously raucous and reserved parties as teenagers and beyond. They kept the spare key to our house and became a frequent calling-post for the forgetful teenage years. You would pop across the road to get the key and then three hours later, would emerge, drenched in tea, with aching jaw from the chattering and interest they showed in your life.

Only 85 and in energetic health attending to his vegetable patch and beloved roses, David died of a heart attack this afternoon.

David and Anne Booth make me want to find the perfect partner and stay married for over 60 years. Their energy as a couple and as individuals made me so happy and I can only imagine the heartache going through Anne's head in that quiet house this evening. I know that Spring is supposed to be the season for new life and all that, but I can't help feeling terribly let down that the system decided that this year, David was the one who had to make way.

Guest contributions

When we first started Gorgeously  the intention was always to open it up to other contributors (as with Kiddley and WhipUp rather than writing it all ourselves.

We've already got a couple of fabulous new columnists lined up for March and we were wondering if anyone else would like to join in. 

Do you have any seasonal recipes, craft projects, book reviews or any other gorgeous ideas for things to do in March?  Or any other month of the year? Would you like to write a regular column giving your perspective on the months and seasons as they change? Do you have a hobby or interest which changes through the months? If so we'd love to hear from you and it could be a great opportunity to make your own blogs and websites known to a wider community.

Send us an outline of your idea or a link to a blog post and we'll take it from there.

Hopefully together we'll be able to make Gorgeously even more gorgeous.

February Movie of the Month: Notes on a Scandal

Love, desire, admiration :: the attractive side to attraction

Objectification, idealisation, jealouy, blackmail, ownership :: the scary side

Judi Dench as obsessive, deluded, asexual spinster stalker Barbara Covett (oh how that name irritates me in its transparency) had me leaving the cinema realising that I had not removed my clenched fist from in front of my mouth for a good two hours. The process of reading the novel, upon which the film is based, was disturbing due to its narrative voice in the form of Covett's diary, written while her and her teacher colleague, Sheba Hart, (played by Cate Blanchett) are barricaded in from a media mob following Cate's affair with a 15 year old student.

I'm not sure whether the film fully succeeds in communicating the one hundred and one little nuances of shudder-inducing prose. What is does achieve, however, is a dark and delicious tale of manipulation and envy. This is the dark side of love, or a form of love, and the departure from the Judi Dench we know and trust in As Time Goes By or the many versions of yummy grandmummy felt as unnerving as watching Rom-Com-Fave Julia Roberts take on the role of Anna in Closer.* As said by Nick Curtis, it's refreshing to see Dench be given the opportunity to be as 'unlovely' as this.

This film is the antidote to all those soppy chickflicks released at this time of year and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's a shame that it's come in the same year as Helen Mirren's The Queen (which was similarly under-released in the UK but has since received great acclaim). If only those little statues were handed out in pairs to those who were truly deserving.  

They're certainly both polite enough to share if they were asked.

*An interesting relationship, too, as Patrick Maber wrote the play and screenplay of Closer as well as the screenplay of Zoe Heller's novel.

DVD of the Month - Marie Antoinette

This film is a masterclass in living gorgeously - an orgy of food porn, costume porn and interiors porn. Every single frame of every single scene is utterly, utterly enchanting - like watching a procession of exquisite Fragonard paintings - and that's what makes this film worth watching, becaus, to be honest, it was a bit of a disappointment otherwise.

Kirsten Dunst's Marie Antoinette and her friends are portrayed as a bunch of silly, airheaded young Sloanes  - a feeling enhanced by the fab contemporary soundtrack - who are kept totally ignorant of the political situation which is about to engulf them, and who are revelling, understandably, in their wealth and position.

And that's the essential problem with this film, since watching a bunch of ignorant teenagers having a laugh - albeit in very nice costumes - is not a particularly thrilling way to spend an evening. 

The spare style which director Sofia Coppola used to such great effect in Lost in Translation doesn't work so well here.  Dialogue is again kept to a minimum and replaced by telling looks and meaningful gestures.  But this time, instead of making me focus even more on the lead protagonists, my mind wandered to take in the real stars -  the clothes and cakes and views of Versailles (to which Coppola was given unprecedented access).

Coppola also makes the decision to show nothing at all of what was going on outside of court life, which may have been true to Marie Antoinette's perspective, but never provides a counterpoint to the decadence and extravagance of the court.  Even more unforgivably, the film ends just when Marie Antoinette's story becomes truly interesting, and the whole thing just feels maddeningly insubstantial. 

So all in all, not great, but if you're in any way interested in clothes, interiors, cakes or spellbinding photography, it might still be worth a sneaky peak.

Last Chance to Enter - February Photo Competition

Just to remind you avid snappers out there that this month's Photo Competition closes in just three days, on 26 February.

Do have a look at the Flickr Pool - some really gorgeous shots are in there already - and contribute your best Valentine's / Spring / Daffodils / Pancakes / Chinese New Year / International Jewish Book Week photograph to get a chance to win some sumptuous rose-scented hearts.

We at Gorgeously can't wait to hear Maryam's thoughts on your undoubted talent!

Shrove Tuesday and Mardi Gras

I am informed by Wikipedia that Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day is not commonly known in the US and places outside the old British Empire. 

As Helen said, the tradition of eating pancakes grew as a way of using up rich perishable foodstuffs before the rigorous fasting of Lent. It is a separate tradition from the Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday celebrations of Catholic countries - though personally I'd rather be cavorting at the New Orleans, Rio or Venice Carnivals, which are all high on my list of things to do before I die, than sedately eating pancakes at my dining table. Incidentally the word 'Carnival' or 'Carnevale' comes from the Latin carnem levare ''to give up meat'.

Here is a recipe for traditional English pancakes, which are like smaller versions of thin French crepes instead of thick US-style pancakes.  They are traditionally served with just a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkling of sugar, which is much more delicious than it sounds.  Pancakes spread with jam, Golden Syrup and particularly Nutella have also been known to make an appearance at our table.

As Helen demonstrated, you're supposed to turn the pancake over by tossing it high in the air and having it land in the pan on the other side. This of course leads to much hilarity and cursing.  If you get good  atpancake tossing then you can always enter one of the traditional Pancake Races.

Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday which traditionally marked the start of the forty day Lenten Fast.  Many people in the UK still try to give up some indulgence for Lent.  According to this blog, a period of about a month is a psychologically perfect amount of time to try and change a bad habit - it's not so long that it feels too daunting, but it's long enough to make a significant difference and perhaps even form a new habit.  For the record, I'm going to be giving up chocolate AGAIN. Go on, I dare you!

I was going to post up a picture of our pancakes, but came to the conclusion fairly quickly that a hot stove, flying pancakes, a camera tripod and a two year old didn't mix.

Spring greens and pinks and purples and ....

 

At the start of this month the blog began "you'll see a stirring in the soil and know that spring is just around the corner...."  so it is with great joy that now (albeit a bit into the month), that I am delighted to report that not only is the soil breaking out in bejeweled swaths of crocus and daffodil - but today I saw my first tree breaking into leaf - hurrah!   The first of the cherry trees are now in blossom along with flowering quinces, whilst magnolia buds everywhere are just ready to burst - how wonderful.  Meanwhile, two of my favourite flowers are doing their stuff in the garden right now:  snowdrops and Hellebores, of which there are many wonderful colours as you can see here: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are however two problems with hellebores; 1)  They flower now when realistically you don't venture or linger in the garden that much and 2) Their flowers 'nod' so you need to lift them up to really appreciate them, unless... pick the flowers and then float them in coloured tealights or a bowl and hey presto - decoration and appreciation in one - and they last for ages - weeks infact as a great table centerpiece -especially if you add some tealights. 

Back outside, if you have a garden then now is the time to take stock and look at its overall structure… are there any major gaps where there is a boring fence or an unsightly view?  If there is, now would be a good time to put in something evergreen, maybe even some topiary if appropriate – although please not the piece I recently saw that is shaped as a  motorbike...!  

Other jobs to do are to prune late flowering summer plants and evergreens and give everything a good feed - yes, plants appreciate a bit of food too at this time of year, although unlike us they prefer a good sprinkling of dried blood, fish and bone (available together in powdered form from any garden centre), followed by a thick topping of manure.  Delicious and quite unlike any other recipe here on 'Living Gorgeously! 

Having done all that - you deserve to reward yourself, so do so by buying British. This supplier grows their plants so can supply you with a hand-crafted creation filled with freshly picked blooms and foliage direct from the English countryside.  A cheaper alternative of course would be to go and lightly prune a local cherry tree or camellia that are all flowering now ... although if it does not belong to you I am not condoning plant vandalism!     

Down at my allotment I am now sowing broad beans and peas for an early crop and 'chitting'' my potatoes ready for planting in March.  I have also just bought some wonderful hazel pea sticks and hazel poles with which to support my peas and then make an archway for sweetpeas - watch this space.  So much nicer than bamboo poles and since they are sourced from a locally coppiced woodland I feel I am doing my little bit... I'm sure the peas will taste all that sweeter too!  If you want to source your own bean poles then find out where through those that are trying to preserve this forgotten tradition.    

And finally - take a look at my best  houseplant - a Strelitzia, the Bird of Paradise plant which has now opened 3 flowers of which this is one.  Easiest plant of all to  look after - you can forget about watering it for ages and somehow it forgives you and produces this terrific flower.  Bloom on!

At the start of this month the blog began "you'll see a stirring in the soil and know that spring is just around the corner...."  so it is with great joy that now (albeit a bit into the month), that I am delighted to report that not only is the soil breaking out in bejeweled swaths of crocus and daffodil - but today I saw my first tree breaking into leaf - hurrah!   The first of the cherry trees are now in blossom along with flowering quinces, whilst magnolia buds everywhere are just ready to burst - how wonderful.  Meanwhile, two of my favourite flowers are doing their stuff in the garden right now:  snowdrops and Hellebores, of which there are many wonderful colours as you can see here: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are however two problems with hellebores; 1)  They flower now when realistically you don't venture or linger in the garden that much and 2) Their flowers 'nod' so you need to lift them up to really appreciate them, unless... pick the flowers and then float them in coloured tealights or a bowl and hey presto - decoration and appreciation in one - and they last for ages - weeks infact as a great table centerpiece -especially if you add some tealights. 

Back outside, if you have a garden then now is the time to take stock and look at its overall structure… are there any major gaps where there is a boring fence or an unsightly view?  If there is, now would be a good time to put in something evergreen, maybe even some topiary if appropriate – although please not the piece I recently saw that is shaped as a  motorbike...!  

Other jobs to do are to prune late flowering summer plants and evergreens and give everything a good feed - yes, plants appreciate a bit of food too at this time of year, although unlike us they prefer a good sprinkling of dried blood, fish and bone (available together in powdered form from any garden centre), followed by a thick topping of manure.  Delicious and quite unlike any other recipe here on 'Living Gorgeously! 

Having done all that - you deserve to reward yourself, so do so by buying British. This supplier grows their plants so can supply you with a hand-crafted creation filled with freshly picked blooms and foliage direct from the English countryside.  A cheaper alternative of course would be to go and lightly prune a local cherry tree or camellia that are all flowering now ... although if it does not belong to you I am not condoning plant vandalism!     

Down at my allotment I am now sowing broad beans and peas for an early crop and 'chitting'' my potatoes ready for planting in March.  I have also just bought some wonderful hazel pea sticks and hazel poles with which to support my peas and then make an archway for sweetpeas - watch this space.  So much nicer than bamboo poles and since they are sourced from a locally coppiced woodland I feel I am doing my little bit... I'm sure the peas will taste all that sweeter too!  If you want to source your own bean poles then find out where through those that are trying to preserve this forgotten tradition.    

And finally - take a look at my best  houseplant - a Strelitzia, the Bird of Paradise plant which has now opened 3 flowers of which this is one.  Easiest plant of all to  look after - you can forget about watering it for ages and somehow it forgives you and produces this terrific flower.  Bloom on!

Book of the Month: After You'd Gone

What can I say about the time we spent in each other's lives? That we were happy. That we were barely apart. That, fleetingly, I would get that vertiginous, towering feeling of knowing another person so well that you could actually see what it would be like to be them. That I never felt incomplete before I met him but with him I felt finished, whole. What else? We lived in his house in Camden Town. I made him tidier, I painted the staircase blue, he eased my temper by laughing at me when I was in a rage. He cured my insomnia by reading to me in the middle of the night when he was half asleep. What else, what else?

Alice wanders in a haze of the absence of an un-detailed lost lover. She finds herself at Kings Cross Station and spontaneously gets a train home to Scotland. When she meets her sisters there, she sees something so upsetting that it sends her back to London in a confused, spluttering mess. Her turmoil deepens and she is hit by a car and taken to hospital in a coma.

Thus ends the ten-page prologue of After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell. This premise enables Maggie to intertwine the stories of Alice's childhood, adolesence, lovers, family, mother, grandmother and what she saw at Edinburgh station in a fragmented narrative of Alice's comatose meanderings.

Oh my goodness. Recommended to me by Paola, via a recommendation from Petite Anglaise, this is a true blog-find and a perfect Saturday night in read. I started this at 10pm with a glass of red wine and finished it on Sunday morning with a cup of tea and a box of soggy tissues. The urgency of the stories, of Alice, of her mum, of her dad's mum, of her lover and of his father, and their inter-relationships and ability to damage and love one another in turn, result in a narrative that is simultaneously engaging and distracting from all the other stories you are also interested in. The narrative drags you at speed from North Berwick, to Edinburgh, to London and back again a few times more, via a weekend away at Lake Windermere and all its literary associations. An unashamed page-turner in the best sense, I had not had a good indulgent weep over literature for a very long time and it was purging, indulgent and wholly heart breaking.

Read this book, wallow in its brilliance, and just make sure you have something to hug when you reach the last page. Don't say I didn't warn you.

A Day too Early; A Day too late: Chinese New Year & Shrove Tuesday

  Chinese New Year was celebrated across London yesterday, and I joined the galloping hoardes in Trafalgar Square to see cultural dances and some very bendy Chinese girls.

Onwards, then to China Town, where the lanterns continued and the crowds heaved. Red is the colour of Chinese New Year, In the days leading up to the Chinese New Year, people clean their houses, repay debts, buy new clothes and have their hair cut. A celebratory meal is held on the eve of the new year, with many traditional dishes served, and fireworks and firecrackers are let off to see in the new year.

We sadly failed to reach the fireworks on time because of the crowds, but we sure did see some smoke!

Those born in pig years tend to have excellent manners, make and keep friends, work very hard, and appreciate luxury. They are very loving and make loyal partners.

And then tomorrow in England, it's Shrove Tuesday, or the more aptly named... PANCAKE DAY!! One of my favourite holidays, this was traditionally the day that families used up perishables like eggs and milk before the fasting of Lent and made, you guessed it, pancakes!!

The Boy's cooking often leaves little to be desired, but he can make a mean pancake so I often rope him in to the kitchen at least once a year! However, last night was slightly fraught, as we tried to simultaneously flip and photograph, taking into account the vagaries of flash warm-up.

It finally ended with my being kicked out of the kitchen with the expletive: "This isn't a ****ing photoshoot, it's your dessert. GO SIT DOWN."

So I did.

A little bit of lemon, a little bit of sugar...They were scrumptious.

Scented Hanging Sachets

These are possibly the easiest and most decadent little gift I can think of to make. You could get a production line going in the winter and have a stockpile of sets of four all ready to distribute for birthdays, anniversaries and the holidays. I think in this instance, though, you can take back the suspicious stuffed toys, single drooping roses and cubic zarconia and get the Valentines pressie you want and deserve in one little project!

Firstly, cut out some heart shapes from any little pieces of fabric you may have lying around. I used plain silk dupions on the reverse and brocade and cotton prints for the front. For reference, the hearts are about 3 1/2" wide and about 3 1/2" long. I had a problem with my shapes fraying, so you may want to paint the edges in FrayCheck or PVA glue, or use pinking shears if the rough and ready look isn't for you! I personally don't mind it, but it's your call!

Lay your hearts together in pairs, right sides out and pin your ribbon at the top. Then, using a machine, or by hand if you really must be Martha, sew around the edge, using the foot of the machine as a guide, incorporating the ribbon crossover as you stitch around the top. Don't forget to leave about a 3/4" gap along one of the long sides so you can stuff them!

For stuffing, I first used plain ol' lentils, but friends kept sniffing them and looking confused (!) so I crushed up some rose pot pourri (using my pestle and mortar) and added that to a lentil mix for the second batch. I found a paper cone/funnel assisted in making minimal mess.

Then, pin across the opening to stop lentils coming out in the transfer to machine and stitch it closed on your machine. The zipper foot might help you get to the line better, though it depends how firmly they're stuffed!

Finally, tie a bow from the two ends of ribbon at the top and hang from a coat hanger, doornob or chest of drawers, or nestle in amongst your 'smalls' for a satisfying whiff in the morning.