Category: GOING OUT

Naomi In Fashion Exhibition at the V & A

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Naomi Campbell is possibly the most iconic and super of the super models. I saw her speaking on Sky News about a new exhibition dedicated to her career showing at The Victoria and Albert Museum, until 6th April 2025. I immediately booked tickets for myself and a friend to go. I could not get tickets for the recent Gabrielle Chanel exhibition and did not want to miss out again. I am not a member of the V & A so the cost was £18 each which includes a small donation to the museum. The easiest way to get to the V & A is by tube, if you get off at South Kensington station there is a tunnel that leads you directly to the door.

London born Campbell was discovered while out shopping in Covent Garden as a teenager. She appeared on the cover of the UK edition of Elle magazine just before she turned sixteen. Her equally gorgeous mother, Valerie, accompanied her to shoots much of the time. Campbell was the was the first black model to appear on the cover of many publications including Time magazine. In doing so she paved the way for those black models that followed her. She has been an outspoken advocate for inclusivity and diversity in the fashion world.

Campbell is know for her beauty but also for her bad temper. Years ago, I saw her appear as a guest on the talk show of American model Tyra Banks where Banks accused Campbell of trying to sabotage her career when she was starting out. In 2007 she famously was sentenced to community service and anger management classes in New York for throwing her mobile phone at the head of her housekeeper. The spectacular Dolce & Gabbana dress that she wore for the last day of community service forms part of the exhibition. Not everyone’s choice of outfit for picking up litter but Campbell knew the paparazzi would be out and the result was some iconic photographs.

The V & A is a wonderful place to visit at any time and there is nowhere like London on a sunny day. We arrived a little early and sat on the terrace with coffee and a oat muffin. There is a pond where children were playing in their swimming costumes. Local parents seem to use this space like a park and why not? You don’t have to pay to access this area. It made me want to move to this part of London, if only I could afford it.

The exhibition itself is packed with beautiful things to see. Campbell looks like a goddess in every singe photograph. She is absolutely flawless and seems to radiate a powerful presence. The exhibition incudes photographs of her with Nelson Mandela taken from her personal collection. There are exquisite gowns and accessories galore. You can see the Vivienne Westwood Anglomania shoes that caused Campbell to topple over on the runway and a chic lavender Chanel suit she wore in 1994. There are many pieces by Azzedine Alaïa with whom Campbell was particularly close. Iconic pieces by Yves San Laurent, Versace, John Galliano, Valentino and Alexander McQueen also feature. There is no one in the fashion world that she has not worked with. There is also a 360 screen displaying some of her most famous shots and another screen of her dancing. A short film of Campbell giving instructions on perfecting her signature runway walk was keeping a small boy entertained when we went. If you have any interest in fashion then this exhibition is a must see.

We exited the V & A to see hundreds of “Swifties” queuing up for the Taylor Swift Songbird Trail. The sun was still out and we walked to Knightsbridge for a mooch around Harrods. So many beautiful things to admire including a whole wall of brightly coloured Dior Lady handbags. Just window shopping for us. We then headed to Harvey Nichols where we had lunch in their cafe. I had a cheese salad sandwich and a pineapple juice which cost an eyewatering £27.

What an honour for a living person to have an entire exhibition at the V & A dedicated to their life and career. Now fifty four, Campbell has recently become the mother to two children and, understandably, her modelling career is not as full-on as it once was, she has nothing left to prove. She is still otherworldly beautiful though and her place in fashion history is guaranteed.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

Exploring Florence: A 30th Anniversary Celebration Trip

On By samanthaIn GOING OUT2 Comments

Here we are in Italy with a sun hat and a dictionary, from “Lonesome for a place I know” by Everything But The Girl. This is my current earworm. I used Duolingo rather than a dictionary but I did buy a rather nice sun hat from Accessorize for £4,50.

My husband and I celebrated thirty years of marriage last week. Time really does seem to speed up as you get older, when I look in the mirror I am always shocked to see my fifty something self looking back at me. Anyway, I really wanted to go to Venice but my friends warned me against it in August. It will smell, they said and be impossibly crowded. So, instead I booked four nights in Florence through Expedia. A friend gave me an official website to book tickets to various museums, gardens and churches, all very reasonably priced I thought. Three outings for two people cost less than £100. Picking up the tickets when we arrived at each location was very simple and I would definitely recommend pre-planning any sightseeing.

Before we talk about Florence can I just give the dump that is Gatwick airport a special mention. We arrived a little early and sat in a cafe where a roaring trade in stolen mobile phones was clearly going on. I do not blame the cafe workers at all for not intervening but it didn’t make for a very pleasant atmosphere. A woman in fluffy sliders and a “Juicy” tracksuit kept coming over and handing off more phones to three lurking men. We were flying with Vueling, the assistant helping people with the self-check-in was incredibly impatient and made a poor job of putting the bar code sticker onto my case, it went around the corner. There are no actual human beings to put your case onto the conveyor belt and weigh it, you do it yourself. Predictably, the machine could not read the bar code on my sticker and it was rejected. I was sent to the “ground services” desk where half the world’s population appeared to be queuing. It was impossible to see whether there were several queues or one big, smelly huddle and I began to feel a bit stressed. My husband suggested we try the automated conveyor belt one more time and, thank God, my case was accepted.

I only wanted to buy some Estee Lauder lip gloss in duty free but, according the the Sales Assistant, Estee Lauder don’t make lip gloss, so I gave up and bought two books from WH Smith, both thrillers that I chose in a hurry. One, The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas, was a real page-turner and I will write a little review soon.

The flight was two and a half hours and then we arrived at Florence airport where, thankfully, my suitcase was waiting for me. We got a taxi to the city centre where we were staying which cost around £35. We stayed at the Hotel Calimala which is brilliantly located. The staff were very welcoming and our room was lovely, particularly the marble bathroom. The hotel has a stunning rooftop bar which is featured in a number of guide books. We went out for a walk around the city and were immediately struck by the evening heat and the beauty of the place. There is a lovely atmosphere with street musicians and performers and endless places to stop and have a drink or bite to eat. Everybody is a little dressed up which is a refreshing change.

Like many tourist destinations, Florence has a problem with aggressive street hawkers who slip a bracelet on your wrist and then tell you to pay an extortionate amount for it. I had heard Heather McDonald, a podcaster, talking about this exact scam just before we left. She had been to Rome and been scammed by people selling fake tickets at The Colosseum. Unfortunately my husband encountered one of these people when he popped out on his own and the man was extremely hostile when my husband politely declined to buy. I gave a woman who came up to us, begging, some coins and she screamed obscenities and threw them back at me. During one meal a man randomly bumped into our table and the restaurant manager came up and explained that he was a thief trying to steal my husband’s backpack. I would advise not walking around with more money or cards than you need for the day and leave your passport in a safe somewhere if you can.

On our first morning we visited Boboli Gardens. Fortunately I had booked to go in when they opened at 10am. There are a great many steps and it would have been too hot any later in the day. The views are spectacular. Afterwards we had brunch at a little café where the waitress brazenly stole ten euros from us. It was a shame because the food was delicious but we wouldn’t return after that.

There must be a million handbags for sale in Florence. The leather market was a two minute walk from our hotel and there are countless shops all selling much the same thing. Then, of course, there are the luxury stores, Chanel, Prada, a huge Gucci, Celine and branch of YSL where the staff literally stand and sneer at the passers by. I am not much of a shopper, I had a look around the market but there were too many people and I really do not need another handbag. The quality of most of the goods seem to be excellent and they were all reasonably priced. There are also numerous jewellers and inexpensive clothes shops such as H&M and Zara.

The next day we visited the Accademia Gallery where Michelangelo’s statue of David is displayed. The statue is quite breathtaking and much larger than I’d realised. The gallery is very impressive and air conditioned! There is a room with hundreds of marble busts, everywhere you look eyes seem to be watching. Of course, most of the artwork has a very religious theme and so much of it is stunningly beautiful, so much gold leaf. Despite being August, entry is managed so that there aren’t too many people in the gallery at any one time.

On our last day we visited Santa Croce The tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli are inside this magnificent church. If you plan on visiting remember that it is a place of worship and dress accordingly. If you wear a vest top and shorts they won’t admit you. Knees and shoulders have to be covered. Although I usually enjoy looking around churches, it was so stuffy and hot inside that I am afraid we did not stay very long.

We were not overly impressed with the food in Florence. It was nice but nothing special, we probably just went to the wrong restaurants. We went for a pizza one evening, my husband I chose different dishes but they were both too salty to eat. I had a lasagne another evening that could have come from Marks and Spencer. We went to a cute little café one morning but the waitress told us, at 9am, that we were too late for breakfast. I had a dry croissant, or cornetto, instead. I got the impression that some of the hospitability staff aren’t overly fond of the tourists.

One thing to mention is that, if you tire easily, Florence may not be the best city for you to visit, especially during the height of summer. Unless you are eating /drinking at a bar or café there is absolutely nowhere to sit and rest. There ae no benches where you can take a breather and enjoy a gelato. The best you can hope for is to perch on a low wall or even a doorstep.

Florence is a stunningly beautiful city packed full of gorgeous architecture and history. If you enjoy shopping you will not be disappointed. I hope to visit again, maybe in June or September next time when it will be a little cooler. It would be a great location for a girls trip. Everything is within walking distance and I loved the lively, bustling atmosphere.

Grazie per aver letto

Samantha

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Birthday Blisters

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It was my birthday this week, another year older if not wiser. I don’t usually do very much to celebrate. For my 50th I threw a small party in my garden but, other than that, it is usually just business as usual with perhaps a meal out in the evening. This year my birthday fell on a Tuesday, my day off. My husband had a dentist appointment in London so we decided to meet outside London Bridge station late morning and spend the day in town. I caught the 9.30am train and it was standing room only. At least I don’t look old enough to be offered a seat. It amazes me that people have to be asked to move their bags so that other passengers can sit down, there was much huffing and tutting going on. The train is supposed to take about twenty minutes to reach London Bridge but it would have been quicker to walk (well, not really) as it crawled along at a snail’s pace.

It was a beautiful day so I decided to wear a summer dress by Sugarhill Brighton, a denim jacket from FatFace and white plimsolls from Schuh. Big mistake, huge, as Julia Roberts said to the snooty shop assistant in Pretty Woman. I have worn these plimsolls a few times before and never had a problem but maybe my feet had swollen in the heat, anyway, within half an hour of getting off the train they were rubbing badly. Now I do not have good feet. I won’t go into details but they are not a pretty sight and I loathe buying shoes and trainers. If they are not comfortable it can be such an expensive mistake. For most of the year I wear boots either by Gabor, Next or Russell and Bromley. I literally have one pair of evening shoes and some cheap-as-chips ASOS sandals that are so comfortable I bought multiple pairs. Havaiana flip flops are also a winner although I only wear them in the garden or at the beach. On one trip to Switzerland I was wearing new Birkenstocks, my previous, comfy pair no longer being fit to be seen in public. I had a migraine for the whole trip, possibly because of the altitude, and was taking a lot of painkillers. The tablets did nothing for my head but they must have numbed the pain in my foot because I failed to realise that the new sandals had rubbed a huge, deep hole in my little toe. It took weeks to heal and I nearly fainted when a woman ran over my foot with a trolley in Waitrose.

Back to my birthday outing; I hobbled to a river-front restaurant where we had a coffee. We then went to Borough Market but it was absolutely heaving with people, too busy to do anything other than get pushed along with the crowd. We strolled along Clink Street, where a chase scene in Oliver Twist was filmed, and here my husband gave some American tourists an impromptu history lesson. By this time I was feeling a little grumpy and wishing I had spent the day sitting in the garden. I couldn’t really say anything to my husband though who had taken the day away from work. We had a very overpriced and mediocre pub lunch and headed home. I then popped into see my parents, My mum still knows who I am although I think sometimes she is a little unsure. Dad explained that it was my birthday and she said “many happy returns” then forgot straight away. She did remember that I am a twin though. Dad always chooses the most beautiful cards and he can do the most gorgeous calligraphy. I have kept most of the cards my parents have sent me over the years. I stayed for a cup of tea and then it was time to go home and rest my throbbing feet.

Later that evening my children all gave me their cards and gifts, some Radley sunglasses, Clarins bronzer and a This Works Perfect cleavage and neck serum, all courtesy of my Amazon wishlist. I haven’t used the beauty gifts yet but I am very impressed with my new sunglasses, they are very light and look more expensive than they were. Apart from my new blisters it was a nice birthday spent with people I love.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

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A Trip to Great Dixter & Rye

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Great Dixter House and Gardens are situated in East Sussex, about eight miles from Rye. The drive there along the A268 is very pretty, the road is lined with picture-postcard worthy homes. You can of course also take the train. Great Dixter is best know for being the home of Christopher Lloyd the famous creator of gardens and author of books about gardening. The house itself is stunning on the outside, an imposing Tudor mansion. Inside there are three rooms open to the public, the Great Hall, The Parlour and The Solar. There are sausage dog ornaments everywhere and bookcases stuffed with Christipher Lloyd books. To be honest there isn’t that much of interest inside but there are tour guides to bring the history of the house to life

I visited Great Dixter with two friends and the first thing we did upon arriving was find the coffee shop. There is only an outside cafe area but the cakes were delicious as was the coffee. We sat shivering as unfortunately the day we visited it was chilly and raining, despite it being late May. I had visited five years previously on a beautiful sunny day and the weather really does make all the difference. We walked around all the different gardens especially admiring the roses, lupins and irises. The planting is dense and very imaginative. On this latest visit everything looked a bit overgrown and there were an awful lot of weeds everywhere. I actually wondered if they should let visitors in for free on the condition that they pull up some of the cow parsley that was infiltrating every flower bed. Adult entry to the house and gardens is £16. You can buy many different plants, horticultural books, gardening tools and little mementoes like tea towels at the small gift shop.

After spending an a couple of hours at Great Dixter we decided to head to Rye for a spot of lunch and a look around. I have never been there before and was delighted to see how quirky the pretty period houses are, they have names like “The House Opposite”. Rye is quite hilly and the streets are cobblestone so wear trainers or sensible shoes if you visit. The cobbles are covered in moss so it is all a little slippery. We had lunch at a Turkish restaurant called Layla. I had a chicken wrap with fries and my friends had the chicken salad, The portions were generous and the food tasty.

After lunch we had a look around the shops. It has been some time since I have seen such a healthy looking high street. There lots of shops and I didn’t spot any nail bars, vape shops or the usual coffee shop chains that make up most high streets in 2024. My friend bought a raffia handbag in a shop called Colette. There is a dress agency selling pre-loved designer clothes and a number of independent boutiques and gift shops. All of the clothes shops were rather expensive in my opinion and they seemed to stock the same sort of thing, linen smocks and wide, floaty dresses, not really my cup of tea. I did spot a lovely cranberry red sweatshirt but it was £106 but so I didn’t buy it.

We had a walk around the town but it was still raining so , after walking the the viewing point situated outside the Castle Museum, we headed home. Rye is a picturesque town to visit with a good variety of shops and restaurants. I imagine there are lots of lovely walks as well, just not on days when there is torrential rain.

A banana plant, the house at Great Dixter, a cobbled street in Rye

Thank you for reading

Samantha

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The Tower of London & The GunPowder Plot Immersive Experience

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I am always on the look-out for something different to do in London. We live about a half an hour train journey from central London and I try to get there at least every couple of months. I love the village where I live but it is very quiet and sometimes it is nice to feel the buzz of the city. Last year myself and a friend went to The War Of The Worlds Immersive Experience in Aldgate which was great fun so I have been searching for something similar.

I used to work for a merchant bank located at Tower Hill but have only been to the Tower of London once before, as a very small child. I decided to book tickets for the GunPowder Plot Experience followed by a tour of The Tower of London. It is not an inexpensive day out, tickets for both came in at around £90 each and then there were the train fares as well. I booked tickets for the experience via Fever https://feverup.com/en/london

If you plan on doing both The GunPowder Plot Experience and the Tower of London in one day I would recommend you do the plot first and book an early slot, 11am or before in order to fit everything in. The Beefeater led tours of the tour stop surprisingly early, we got on the last one of the day which was around 3pm. Our GunPowder Plot Experience was booked for 11.30am, for some unfathomable reason we were told to arrive half an hour early, ten minutes would have been plenty of time to stash our belongings in a locker and sign the waiver. There was a fair bit of waiting around in the bar before the experience began but it gave us time to visit the spotless loos. The venue is cashless so bear this in mind if you want a drink at the interval although you can order and pay for one whilst booking.

The GunPowder Plot Experience lasts around one hour and forty minutes and takes you through the events leading up to the execution of Guy Fawkes and his collaborators in 1605. It is a history lesson brought to life. I definitely learnt some new facts about this period. A group of participants, there were around ten of us, were given black, hooded cloaks to wear and are then led through a warren of murky passages by actors playing various characters. The participants visit houses, cellars, dungeons and churches. The actors were really wonderful and the whole experience is extremely atmospheric. There was a dad with a young son of about nine years old in our group and I did wonder if the lad would be frightened but he thoroughly enjoyed himself as did one American participant who got so into the spirit of the occasion that we weren’t sure if he were actually one of the actors. – he wasn’t.

Me wearing the rather smelly black cloak I was given upon arrival

There are a few points in the experience where the participants don virtual reality headsets and find themselves transported across the Thames or watching the night skies of London. There is one where a tortured priest is flown across the sky to supposed safety . These are very effective and quite creepy, in a good way. If you look to the person next to you on the boat you will see the other participant transformed into a dark figure wearing a plague mask. The entire experience was thoroughly enjoyable and great fun. Do bring a sweater, everybody was complaining that they were chilly in the understandably rather dank venue. The venue for the experience was a bit tricky to find, don’t walk down to the Tower itself, head for the ticket office and it is right next door. The GunPowder Plot Experience is enough by itself for a trip out, you could come back another day and see The Tower. I’d thoroughly recommend it and I thought it was good value for money.

After the experience we had a lovely lunch in the nearby Pizza Express and then returned to look around The Tower of London. The sun was shining and a Beefeater, also called a Yeoman Warder, named Tracey Machin took us on a tour. She was a fantastic speaker and really entertaining. She clearly felt her role was a huge honour and explained that she had been a nurse in the RAF for twenty two years before becoming a Beefeater . We learned about the various sad and grisly executions that had taken place hundreds of years ago and the reasons for them. After the tour we looked around the various buildings by ourselves, there is a huge exhibition of armour and armoury and of course the world famous crown jewels. I assume they are the real jewels and not replicas given the thickness of the vault doors but it does seem unlikely that these would be on display. Anyway they were all dazzlingly beautiful.

Tracey Machin, the Beefeater

At 5pm sharp everything started closing up which is why I suggest starting your day early if you wish to fit both things in one day. Sadly the gift shop closed and I was unable to waste £20 on a Jellycat corgi keyring. We did manage to buy some Palace Mints at a little kiosk though.

I would say that The GunPowder Plot Experience is suitable for ages ten and up, depending on the child. The Tower of London itself is a fascinating place to visit for any age. Both venues together were well worth the £90 price tag, less expensive tickets may be available depending when you wish to go.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

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Film Review – Mothers’ Instinct

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This review contains spoilers. Mothers’ Instinct is a psychological thriller starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. Set in the American suburbs of the 1960’s, Hathaway plays Celine and Chastian plays Alice. The director is Benoît Delhomme who is clearly heavily inspired by Alfred Hitchcock. Alice is styled like Hitchcock’s favourite leading lady, Tippi Hedren with her blonde hair in a french twist and her strappy sundresses. Obviously Hathaway and Chastain are both ridiculously beautiful and they are permanently dressed in ultra-feminine dresses, usually revealing unblemished shoulders and décolletage. Celine even wears six inch stilettoes to do the vacuuming.

Alice and Celine are next door neighbours and good friends, they are both stay at home “moms”, married to successful and handsome men. Alice is married to Simon, played by Anders Danielsen Lie, some sort of accounts executive, and Celine’s husband is Damian, played by Josh Charles. I found Josh Charles a little distracting because he reminds me so much of ex British Prime Minister, David Cameron. Damian is a doctor and Celine is happy to stay at home full time and look after her only child, eight year old Max. Alice and Simon also have an eight year old son, Theo, who is brilliantly played by Eamon Patrick O’Connell. Alice has aspirations to return to her career in journalism but Simon is unsupportive of this and makes some patronising suggestions that maybe she could help out at the boy’s school newspaper. We learn that Celine is unable to have any more children and that Alice has only had one child by choice, Simon would like to have more.

Mothers’ Instinct did have me hiding behind my hands at some points but then I am a lightweight when it comes to scary films. The clues are a bit heavy handed in places. My son and husband are both anaphylactic and it amazes me how potentially fatal food allergies have become such tropes in films and books. Theo is allergic to peanuts and Alice understandably lives in fear of him accidentally ingesting something containing nuts.

Everything is picture perfect in suburbia, Celine drives her gleaming car with Max and Theo, in the back seat, the three of them singing Did You Ever See a Lassie loudy in preparation for a school concert. Celine spends more time looking over her shoulder than at the road and I was sure this is when disaster would strike but no, they made it home to their huge homes without incident.

The couples do a fair bit of socialising in each others homes, decanters and canapes are always at hand and it did seem like wife-swapping may be on the cards but then a dreadful accident befalls Max and everything changes. Does Celine blame Alice for not saving Max or is that just in Alice’s imagination? I was irritated by the fact that there are four main characters and two of them have been afflicted by serious mental illness and they are both of the women. Celine’s unravelling is unnerving to say the least but how ill can she really be to be so conniving? Her gaslighting skills are monumental. Damian and Celine seem unable to help each other through their grief and Damian is also falling apart but in a less spectacular fashion. Celine attends Theo’s birthday party in her mourning garb and stands watching everyone else’s child play happily having only laid hers to rest weeks or even days before. Of course this makes everybody uncomfortable and Simon’s mother tries to tactfully suggest that it isn’t the best place for her, which did not go well. So, is Simon right and Alice having a paranoiac episode or is Celine plotting some sort of terrible revenge? Alice takes matters into her own hands to find out and to protect her family.

I enjoyed Mothers’ Instinct although it was a bit clunky in places. I did not see the ending coming and found it satisfactorily shocking. I loved the glamour of the film which was a remake of a Belgium film, Duelle. Chastain and Hathaway were both wonderful in their roles and complimented each other perfectly and it is refreshing to see two women take to lead.

Thank you for reading,

Samantha

Cover Photo by Myke Simon on Unsplash

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This Week I Have Been….

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Reading – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

I found a battered old copy of The Handmaid’s Tale in my daughter’s bedroom and thought it was about time I revisited Canadian author Atwood’s tale of a dystopian, patriarchal future where laws are based on some twisted version of Christianity. Of course The Handmaid’s Tale has been adapted into a hugely successful Hulu TV series starring Elizabeth Moss as June, the Handmaid. Atwood is an adviser on the series and even appears in Season One during a particularly troubling scene (although, let’s be honest, there are endless troubling scenes). There is also a 1990 film adaptation starring Natasha Richardson. In 2019 Atwood published a long-awaited sequel called The Testaments which provides some answers to readers pondering the fate of Offred.

In Atwood’s book we don’t actually know the Handmaid’s real name, she is now known only as Offred. At the beginning of the story some characters are mentioned and fans of the book deducted that June was our heroine. The story is set in Gilead, formerly in North America where, due to nuclear accidents, AIDS and Syphilis, fertility is at an all time low. Handmaids are the only remaining women who have viable ovaries. These young women are forcibly taken away from their own lives and sent to be trained at the “Rachel and Leah Centre” under the watchful eye of the brutal sadist Aunt Lydia and her cohort of collaborators. The Handmaids are then situated with a high-ranking family, usually a Commander and his infertile wife and forced to partake in a mating ceremony. Any babies born to the Handmaids are given to the Wife and the Handmaid has to repeat the whole process with another couple. The Handmaids are renamed as property of their Commander, Offred is so named because her Commander is called Fred. The whole set up is based on an Old Testament story and, because there is biblical precedent, it is acceptable in Gilead.

Women in Gilead are ranked, there are the Wives who are married to high ranking officials, the Marthas who are now domestic staff, the Unwomen who are send to The Colonies to clean up radioactive waste, a task which is sure to kill them within a year or two and then there are the Econowives who live in poverty on the outskirts of the cities probably working in factories. Human rights are a thing of the past, especially for females. People can be executed for the most minor transgression and their bodies displayed on The Wall which formerly was part of Harvard University. The women all dress according to rank, Wives wear Blue, Handmaids, red etc. All former items of clothing have been burned along with books and magazines. Women are not permitted to read or write unless they are an Aunt.

Offred is chronicling her story, on cassette tapes rather than paper, in the hope that she may be reunited with her young daughter who was taken away when they were captured. She wants her to read the account in the future. She knows that her daughter is alive because the Commander’s cold-as-ice wife, Serena Joy, allows her to glimpse a blurry photo. Offred’s husband, Luke was shot during the capture and she doesn’t know if he is alive or dead. The hope that they will all be reunited is what keeps her going. The former, deceased resident of her tiny bedroom up in the eaves of the Commander’s house carved into the closet wall, Nolite te Bastardes Carboround, a latin phrase which roughly translates into don’t let the bastards grind you down, the illicit words gives Offred courage. The Offred of Attwood’s book is less spirited and fiesty than the Offred of the TV series but as we learn more about her own mother it males sense that she would adapt to life in Gilead and join the resistance. The Handmaid’s Tale is an absolute must-read in my opinion.

Watching – Deconstructing Karen on Amazon Prime Video

This is a very thought provoking documentary about racism in America. The setting is a dinner party where ten white women sit around a table and are immediately asked by the hosts, activists Regina Jackson and Saira Rao , whether they are racist. A few raise their hands to admit they are and one utters the phrase “I don’t see colour, we all bleed red”. The woman could not have said anything more incenditory. If you don’t see colour how do you know we all bleed red asks Jackson. You are erasing brown people says Rao. This evening is part of an initiative called RACE2DINNER by campaigners Jackson and Rao to spread awareness amongst liberal white women about the role they play in upholding racism and white supremacy in the USA. The idea is for women to host a dinner like this for friends, who pay around $250 to attend, then they all examine their own bigotry and ideas around race.

So what is a Karen? If it were my name I would be mightily hacked off by the modern appropriation of it, ditto Becky. A Karen is one of those white women who you may see loudly complaining about a junior member of staff at the supermarket. They typically try to get somebody with less privilege than themselves into trouble. There are multiple videos on YouTube of screaming Karens trying to get innocent black people into trouble, sometimes with the police. Something that has been happening for centuries, often with deadly consequences. Jackson cites multiple examples of innocent black men being lynched because of false claims of rape by the Karens of the time.

Deconstructing Karen is a very confrontational documentary. Rao and Jackson do a lot of finger jabbing and eye rolling. Personally I think their hostility may have made some of the women reluctant to engage in the conversation. Hardly any of the participants agreed to a follow up interview. Rao is understandably angry about the state of things in the US, even her young children have been threatened because of her campaigning. Some of the violent and vile messages she has received beggar belief. Jackson, the ancestor of slaves and seventy years old is clearly disappointed with how little progress towards ending racism has been made during her lifetime. At the end of the evening the guests are asked once again whether they are racist and every single one of them raises their hand .

Listened To – Simon Mayo’s Confessions podcast on Apple Itunes

Simon Mayo is now on Greatest Hits radio but, when he was on the BBC, he had a hugely popular segment on his show where listener’s would send in their “confessions” and Mayo would read them out. He and his co-presenters would then decide whether the listener was forgiven or not. Most of the stories are hilarious and very relatable. The show is back and you can now listen on the podcast of the same name. I thoroughly recommend it if you have a school run to do with a monosyllabic teenager, they are guaranteed to laugh along with you. My reading and watching subject matter this week was heavy-going so a little comic relief was very welcome.

Thanks for reading

Samantha

Cover Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

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This Week I Have Been….

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Reading – The House Keeper by Valerie Keogh

I “borrowed” this book from Amazon Prime Reading, I have no idea how this works and I see there is an option to return. I should do that, hopefully there is not going to be the librarian of my childhood with her ink stamp asking me for a fifty pence fine. The predictable Kindle hyperbole reads “The completely addictive, unputdownable psychological thriller”. Well I wouldn’t go that far. The story follows recently widowed Cassie Macreddin who has used her late husband’s life assurance payout to purchase an Hindon House, an old home in need of much TLC. Cassie wants to turn in into a B&B. Cassie hints very early one that she was somehow responsible for her late husband, Richie’s death.

Cassie moves into the pretty much derelict house when other, more sensible, people would probably have made alternative living arrangements while the most essential work was being done. Every little creak makes her jump and she seems very paranoid. She is suspicious of everybody, especially the estate agent who sold her the property, are they trying to drive away because they want the old wreck of a home for themselves? It does not make much sense, why wouldn’t they have just bought it themselves? The kitchen in particular gives Cassie the shivers as does a dark corridor of little rooms that look like cells.

Cassie is ridiculously clumsy and there is description after description of her various falls and injuries. She enlists the help of Daniel, a local builder and, predictably he is handsome and single. He can’t be a very good builder though because he and his team are able to start work immediately, no planning permission or architect needed apparently . When Cassie visits the local café the staff all whisper in a huddle when they learn that she is the buyer of Hindon House, what is it they know that she doesn’t? An elderly neighbor stops by with chocolate cake and Cassie tries to extract some information from her, unsuccessfully.

I was about thirty chapters into The House Keeper when I began to wonder if anything was ever going to happen, it is far too long and repetitive. Towards the end of the book the story picks up pace and moves to a vey far-fetched conclusion. The story would have been better with a lot of the padding removed because by the end I had totally lost interest.

Watching – Omeleto on YouTube

My daughter has been home from university and we have been watching the Omeleto YouTube channel which showcases short films. There are many different genres, horror, sci-fi, comedy, drama, animation etc. The films on the Omeleto celebrity channel feature well known actors such as Barry Keoghan, Maisie Williams and Guy Pierce. Some of the films are only a few minutes long and the overall quality of content is excellent. We watched The Disappearance of Willie Bingham on the Omeleto horror channel, which was far too gruesome for my taste and The IMom on the Sci-Fi channel. We also watched Curve, directed by Tim Egan, on another channel, Short of The Week , a conundrum of a film which I couldn’t stop thinking about.

Listened To – Redhanded – a Wondery podcast on Itunes

Redhanded is an award winning true crime podcast which usually covers a different high-profile crime each episode, occasionally the same case may be covered over two or three episodes. I believe it is the number one true crime podcast in the UK and has an international fanbase. It is presented by two young women who really know their stuff – Hannah MaGuire and Suruthgi Bala. They are both well travelled, funny and intelligent. One of the first episodes I listened to was about the very sad case of Otto Warmbier, the young American student who went on a trip to North Korea, was accused of treason and then returned to his parents after a year in a vegetative state. Sadly, Otto died shortly afterwards. The news coverage of this case upset me greatly at the time and I listened to the episode in the hope of gaining some clarity about what had happened. The show provided just that and Hannah had even visited the border of South and North Korea and had some fascinating insights. All of the disturbing content is sensitively presented with a touch of humour. The episodes on Casey Anthony and Natalia Grace are literally jaw dropping. I found the episodes featuring the Grenfell Tower fire and the murder of Sarah Everard rage inducing because both tragedies could have been so easily prevented if various government officials had only done their jobs properly. Redhanded is free to listen to but you can also sign up for their Patreon and access much more content.

Thanks for reading

Samantha

Cover Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

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This Week I Have Been…

On By samanthaIn GOING OUTLeave a comment

Reading – Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates

I love Joyce Carol Oates’ short stories but her novels are often too disturbing for me. I don’t tend to enjoy anything that has an ongoing threat of of violence and that is one of Oates’ specialties. Her short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, is one of the most menacing tales I have ever read. Second in the unsettling stakes only to Shirley Jackson’s horror, The Lottery. Oates is an extremely prolific writer having published over seventy books. Her short story collection Evil Eye is outstanding, the ending of the title story being something of a conundrum . I went straight back to the beginning and reread the whole thing but was still confused by the ending. If you haven’t read any of her work that would be an excellent place to start.

Babysitter, set in Detroit during the 1970’s is based loosely on the still unsolved serial killings of children that took place there during the time. These murders ae something of a background story to the domestic drama though. The story centers around Hannah Jarrold, an affluent housewife, approaching her fortieth birthday, who is married to Wes, a successful executive, they have two young children. It is clear from the beginning that Hannah has suffered some trauma at the hands of an abusive father she thinks of a “Joker Daddy”. It seems as though this is a part of her life that she has compartmentalised and Wes seems unaware of her past, in fact Wes really doesn’t seem to notice his wife at all anymore. One evening, while at a charity gala, where Hannah gives a speech and Wes is hoping to do some social-climbing, Hannah has a brief encounter with the enigmatic man she comes to know as YK.

Hannah seems to go through life in a state of permanent brain fog. She sleepwalks through her days making increasingly disastrous and irrational decisions. Although she has moments of complete clarity she does not have the emotional capacity to deal with anything unpleasant and pretends it is not happening. YK is about the worst thing that could happen to any woman and it is clear to the reader from the outset that he is a dangerous predator. No matter how brutal he is, Hannah simply thinks of him as her lover. She is grateful for the attention. YK’s “fixer”, Mikey, otherwise known as Ponytail, is an interesting character and he recognises pure evil when he sees it but is always there with his camera, ready to do YK’s bidding.

Wes feels that the country is on the brink of a race war and is keen to blame any crime on people who are not white. It conveniently fits his agenda and he doesn’t seem to much care about the truth of these accusations or the devastating impact they may have. An incident he has misunderstood, involving Hannah, is stoking his hatred of black people and his indifference to his wife.

I simply could not put Babysitter down, I found it absolutely riveting and found myself muttering warnings to Hannah under my breath as though she could somehow hear me through the page. It is extremely dark and the subject matter does not make for relaxing reading but it is the most compelling book I have read in a while, Domestic Noir at its finest.

Watching- Lover, Stalker, Killer on Netflix

This is a true crime documentary about Dave Kroupa a mechanic who finds himself newly divorced in his thirties. In 2012, like so many people, he goes online to look for a partner. He quickly meets Liz who he has a real connection with and they soon begin to spend quite a bit of time together. Liz, we are told, is a single mum who loves animals and is good with computers. Although Dave likes Liz he makes it clear that he is not ready for a serious commitment. Then Dave meets Cari who is a customer at the auto shop where he works and they begin a fast-moving romance. Cari is also a single mother. One evening, Liz turns up at Dave’s apartment as Cari is there and things begin to go very wrong.

Dave begins to receive hundreds and hundreds of threatening texts from multiple numbers as does his ex-wife and Liz. It s clear that the unhinged person sending the messages is constantly watching either him, Liz or his ex-wife and children. Dave finds himself on the edge of a nervous breakdown fearing for his family’s safety. Then things really escalate. Liz, herself the recipient of hundreds of threatening messages begins to fear for her life but where is Cari, she appears to have disappeared off the face of the earth. The policeman investigating is determined to find her.

I won’t give anything more away about how the story unfolds but, safe to say, it is full of twists and turns and the outcome is jawdropping and also very sad.

Listening to – Alligator Candy on Apple Itunes

This is a devastatingly sad podcast, narrated by David Kushner who, in October 1973, when he was four years old, asked his eleven year old brother, Jon, to bike to the local store and buy him some “Snappy Gator Gum”. The Kushners lived in a suburban area of Tampa, Florida and the nearest 7-Eleven store was at the other side of a woods populated by palm and cypress trees. For local children it represented adventure and freedom. Tragically Jon, a little red headed boy on his red bicycle headed off and was never seen alive again. Sadly he had run into the worst type of people, Johnny Paul Witt and Gary Tilman. More monsters than human beings. They were only arrested because Witt confessed to his wife who turned them into the police.

This is a very intimate podcast and David interviews his mother and other brother, Andy. They all seem such like lovely, kind people and the love that they have for eachother is evident Although Jon has been dead for fifty years it is clear that he is still much loved and remembered and Andy, a musician, performs a song he has written for his dead brother, it is incredibly moving.

David, only a tiny child when this happened, has blamed himself for half a century for asking his brother to go and buy the Snappy Gator Gum. The whole family have had to live with the knowledge that the worst type of nightmare can descend at any time. Although the subject matter is depressing, there is so much goodness and love in the Kushner family that it almost cancels out the horror. As David says, Jon was a boy on his bike, alone and independent, cycling through the woods. In the moments before his death he was happy. I hope that writing his book and making this podcast has helped David Kushner heal from this tragic and traumatic experience.

Thank you for reading,

Samantha

Cover Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

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A Trip To The Theatre – The Mousetrap

On By samanthaIn GOING OUTLeave a comment

My friend Helen and I like to go out somewhere nice every few months or so. In between these trips we will go for walks to the cinema or just have a coffee but we both work hard and like to treat ourselves to a theatre trip or visit a nice restaurant once in a while. Just for a change of scene as much as anything else I think. It’s also nice to have a catch up during the train journey into London.

This time we decided to go and see the long-running play The Mousetrap. Based on the famous murder mystery by Agatha Christie, it is the longest running play in the West End, showing since 1952 . I was in two minds about going to see this because, thanks to an unwelcome spoiler on a radio arts show, I already knew whodunnit but it seemed like something we would both enjoy and reasonably priced tickets were available.

We decided to go for dinner before the show and I booked a table at a small restaurant called Violas in Tavistock Street. As seems to be the case nowadays I had to provide my card details when booking online and was informed that, in the event of us not attending, I would be charged £40. This is the steepest no-show fee I have encountered but I suppose it is Covent Garden. Anyway, Violas is very prettily decked out with lots of artificial flowers everywhere (must be a nightmare to dust) and there are faux fur throws on the back of each chair. The staff were unsmiling apart from the French manager who was running up and down the stairs to the kitchen every five minutes and apologetically explaining to customers that there would be at least a twenty minute wait for their food. This obviously isn’t ideal if you have to be at the theatre at Seven O’Clock and the party on the table next to use took their food away in take-out boxes and asked for the service charge to be removed from the bill. 

I ordered the Black Truffle Pasta which was absolutely delicious . Helen wanted the Salmon but this wasn’t available so she ended up with the Prawn Pasta. Her dish was a plate of tagliatelle with a few prawns, one sliver of aubergine and not much else. Disappointing. We both had a coke to drink and the bill, including tip was about £50. I would have liked a desert but we ran out of time.

Thanks to the miracle that is Google Maps and Helen’s navigational skills we found our way in the nick of time to St. Martin’s Theatre in West Street. We had paid £40 for each of our tickets and we were sitting very high up in the Upper Circle, the stairs are very steep and quite deep. There was a long queue for the two cubicles in the ladies toilets which would have benefitted from a freshen up. We decided not to have a drink during the interval although we did go into the tiny bar which is right behind the light-up sign. The window was open and it was nice to get some fresh air as I had an immovable migraine. As is typical of these old theatres, there is very little leg-room between the seats. It would have nice to have had the option of borrowing some of those little binoculars, or Opera Glasses, to see the actor’s faces more clearly. 

Although I already knew who the villain was, I knew very little about the story itself. Set in a guest house called Monkswell Manor, it tells the story of the two young guest house owners who find themselves hosting an odd assortment of strangers during a snowy night. There has been a shocking murder nearby and investigations have led the local police sergeant to their door. I thought the actors were speaking too quickly at the beginning and it took me a while to settle into the story which, to be honest, was a bit daft but enjoyable. Another friend coincidentally went to see The Mousetrap the night before us and she described it as “a homely play” and that seems quite an apt description.

The woman sitting next to me kept whipping out her iPhone and checking her social media. She was in her fifties, old enough to know better and I found it very distracting. She also kept muttering the dialogue under her breath. She seemed a bit strange so I just tried to ignore her.

We enjoyed The Mousetrap but I was pleased we hadn’t spent a lot of money on the tickets and it definitely isn’t something I would want to see twice. We walked back to Charing Cross station where a train was already waiting on the platform. Towards the end of the journey a very drunk man walked through the carriage asking the other passengers for money. This can be very intimidating, especially if you are travelling by yourself. He didn’t cause any trouble though. We were back in our home town by ten forty five.

Thank you for reading,

Samantha