The Good Stuff 3: Piglet, Dolly Alderton, The Sound of Music
Plus: fresh air, ADHD, The Traitors, Chanel, a brilliant and affordable vintage boutique, and very much more.
Well, that was a more challenging start to the year than anticipated. To be frank, I look forward to ushering January out of the door. However, it has meant that I’ve become adept at seizing moments of cheer - from the best article ever written about The Sound of Music which has brought me almost disproportionate delight, to zipping through some very good books at quite the pace. And I don’t just mean reading all four instalments of the Diary of a Provincial Lady (which of course I have, because when under duress and in times of anxiety, there is little better for lifting the spirits).
A very warm hello to new subscribers - how lovely to have you and thank you for being spirit-lifters. This is a regular monthly post, a round-up of what I’ve been scrolling, watching, thinking, coveting, and - naturally - reading. It’s usually for paid subscribers only, but I'm lifting the pay wall for a brief spell as a thank you, and perhaps an encouragement to those who might be considering upgrading to a paid subscription, so you can wallow in even more book reviews and reap the benefits of my eagle-eyed scouring for objects of fascination and delight.
Despite the best of intentions, this month I have read more than usual and written and worked rather less for reasons personal. How I long to be one of those people who can compartmentalise (as much as I long to be the type of person who cares not a jot what other people think. This is so far removed from my the realms of my own experience that I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like. Please write and tell me if you know.)
Amongst the line-up, I finally read Dolly Alderton’s latest, Good Material. It’s the story of Andy, a failing comedian staggering through heartbreak after the end of his four-year relationship with Jen, and contemplating being unexpectedly single in his thirties. His friends offer alcohol and awkward silence. Andy hits the gym, over-analyses, and spirals into emotional angst. It’s funny, wise on despair, love and thirty-something angst, underpinned by Alderton’s trademark emotional acuity. Interesting to see her - one of the voices of a female generation - take on the male perspective.
Now, imagine, if you will, growing up being nicknamed Piglet by your nearest and so-called dearest. It would, as they say in Heartstopper (which I watch at the behest of my teen), mess with your head.