Yesterday, I was in a bad mood. Terrible, in fact. I was grouchy, irritable, and entirely unwilling to finish this newsletter. No! I protested. Instead of fighting against it and forcing myself to write knowing I wouldn’t be happy with the end result, I didn’t. The prospect of worsening my already soured state of mind was too much hassle. Why waste energy on fighting a losing battle? Yes I know, Drafting is done not perfect… fighting against perfectionism… showing up is most important. It’s not a perfect science.
I have just put down Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth. My reading pace has slowed the past few weeks. Equally, I didn’t find myself desperate to devour it. It’s a beautiful and poignant story of navigating sexuality in 1990s Ireland. But I found parts a little repetitive and overly descriptive, where I longed for more dialogue or plot to drive things forward.
Things are even worse over on the audiobook front. I haven’t touched These Precious Days by Ann Patchett in a while. Ooops. I’ll try to to get back to it this week but my to-do list right now is already keeping me up at night.
Other reads from the last week:
Should we be worried about the return of the bandage dress?
A photo Elizabeth Day took on her iPhone is on display at the Royal Academy
Don’t pity a woman eating alone
- Pleasure has no hierarchy - Soft girls in fascist times
I am in equal measure overwhelmingly excited and overwhelmingly stressed for Glastonbury. I can always rely on myself to be prepared. So, of course, there have been copious amounts of parcels containing outfits, toiletries, and camping things arriving for me over the last few weeks. I am currently ignore the logistics of how the fuck I think I’m going to get everything I want to the campsite. Can I hire a drone?
This week, I have missed being a baby. Not that I can remember much of it. But the napping and lack of admin and other responsibilities has never seemed more appealing.
Pitbull mania will be a pop culture phenomenon that will go down in history. I can’t day for certain what the specific appeal of buying and wearing a bald cap has for fans, but it’s great fun. And Pitbull himself is loving it too.
At the weekend I watched a new thriller on Apple TV with Sydney Sweeney and Julianne Moore, Echo Valley. From the trailer I expected more. It kind of fell flat for me. There was a little twist towards the end I enjoyed but otherwise I wasn’t engaged. A great cast though, with Fiona Shaw and Domhnall Gleeson as supporting actors too.
The wildflowers have arrived. I blinked and suddenly they appeared. The poppies are like a sea of red, unnatural against the softer, earthy tones they sit in. It’s a delight to the eyes. If only everyone would stop picking them.
Auguries of Innocence
By William Blake
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
