Dressing For Dinner

CHRISTMAS 2017: FOR KIDS

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 17:12:00 +0000

I've been a bit slow to start thinking about Christmas this year. I haven't spent my usual time looking at recipes thinking about what to make, I've only just started to buy Christmas presents. But I'm going to get the decorations out tonight so that I can check the lights before we buy our tree this weekend. I've made the cake and it's well wrapped up waiting for its second feed and, I can't promise more than this, but there is one gift guide and some news.

I usually find it easiest to pull together a gift guide for women, as it's really just things I like, but this year a guide for children was the one that came together with very little effort because, I guess, it's where my brain is now that we're expecting our own in April :-)

Clockwise from top left: stickers for a niece who loves rocks and minerals, a wooden penguin, constellation blocks for kids of all ages, placemats and stamp pens for Christmas Day colouring, clear Magna-Tiles for little builders, a Moomin toy, book and, most importantly, house, a handknitted hat and a toy cat for a baby, and, finally, a cosy rainbow suit for Winter walks.

1ST DECEMBER

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 16:54:00 +0000

Happy 1st December. I'm busy making the Christmas cake and have just hung up some lights in the kitchen. I need to go and line my cake tin but I'm just popping in to leave you with this...

28TH JULY

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 16:53:00 +0000

It's been a very Edinburgh kind of July. We get a day, maybe two, of sun, then grey skies, rain, wind, and sometimes all of the above within the space of a few hours. On Tuesday I went from too cold to too warm and back to too cold. This morning I walked along the canal with my sunglasses on, stopping to take photos of flowers, ducks, a boat called 'Scruffy' before coming home to drink a cup of tea and make the sesame seed biscuits from Rachel Roddy's new book, 'Two Kitchens'. I've had the book for just under two weeks and this is the fourth recipe I've made, it's an immediate favourite and I'm sure I'll write more soon but, in the meantime, a few things I've been looking at lately...

This vase
These earrings
These rice krispie treats
This kitchen
This dress
And, most importantly, this film that I've been recommending to everyone...

FRIDAYS

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 17:38:00 +0000

It's been over a year since I stopped working on Fridays. It was a choice that I thought about for a while, a choice that I know I'm lucky to have been able to make, and a choice that has turned out to be one of the best I've ever made about work.

There are the Fridays when I stay in bed late, catch up on TV, only leaving the house to pop to the supermarket. And then there are the Fridays when I go out in the morning to a yoga class or for a swim, do some sewing, clean the flat, make bread, fill my day with things that make me feel productive. But most, like today, are somewhere in between. Today I popped out in the morning, had a long chat to my Mum once I was back in the flat, went to the supermarket, came home and baked a raspberry yoghurt cake.

And now, now the cake is cooling, I'm waiting for Chris to get home, and there's pizza dough resting in a bowl because, as it turns out, there is almost always pizza dough on a Friday.

I make a half batch of the recipe from Jamie's Italy that I've been faithful to for years and then freeze half of the dough for the following week. I used to form two roundish pizzas on baking parchment, pulling the whole thing onto an oven shelf. Now I make a single, roughly baking tray sized, one. The tray goes into the oven as it heats up, the pizza is shaped on parchment, then the whole thing pulled onto the tray while I try to avoid my hand brushing the scorchingly hot metal. It works well, sometimes even better with the frozen dough, and is just the right amount of pizza for two.

ALMOST 38

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 17:00:00 +0000

I turn 38 tomorrow. 37 has been an up and down kind of a year and I'm trying to give up attempting to predict what the year to come might bring but there are a few things I would like to do.

We went to Italy last month. It was hot, too hot really, in Rome. We saw sights but we also sought out shade, and gelato, at every opportunity. I hadn't realised how many water fountains there are in Rome but being able to fill bottles with cold drinking water whenever we needed to was a lifesaver. We stayed in Testaccio for 3 nights and spent a little time each day sitting on a bench under the trees watching people stop off at the water fountain to top up bottles, splash their faces, wash their hands.

On the Saturday we went to a bakery and bought slices of freshly made pizza bianca, the guy behind the counter slicing the whole pizza in half down its length, gesturing to see how much we wanted, before chopping it into chunks. We ate it on a bench opposite the fountain before heading to the market to buy peaches and cherries. Later that day, after a visit to the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica, we walked along the river to Trastevere. We had walked past Da Enzo the day before, recognised it from a friend's photo on Instagram, and decided that we would try to go. After a couple of drinks that evening we stopped by and left our name and then waited, and waited. Later, I'm choosing not to dwell on how much later because it really was worth it, we sat down and ordered carbonara, cacio e pepe, and wild chicory. But, and this would be a recurring theme, after eating about a third of what was absolutely the best carbonara I have ever had my appetite vanished. Apparently my body doesn't do well with feeling too hot and trying to eat much of anything at all which is a very sad place to be when you're in Rome. So, a few days later when we left Rome and headed for the coast we decided that when we return, because we absolutely will, maybe it will be in Autumn, or very early Spring. But the other thing I decided was that I really need to learn to make a proper carbonara.

So making carbonara is on my, not very long, list of things that I want to happen when I'm 38 list; as is conquering my hatred of creating foot rings in pottery. And, and I know I always say this but I'm hoping one day it will stick, I want to write more. Somehow writing a a few lines, here, or in a notebook, or on even on my phone, makes me feel like I have accomplished something even if those lines exist only in that place, in an imperfect form. Maybe it's a lesson I'm learning from pottery where I've been remarkably, for me, happy about my wonky pots, my imperfect glazing. Maybe the doing really is the thing.

So, 38, let's go.

LA DOLCE VITA

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 14:56:00 +0000

I keep meaning to write, just for a change, and then here we are about to go off on holiday. The only time I have been to Italy I was, I think, 23. Sarah and I spent a weekend in Milan, we stayed in a hotel that was cheap and surprisingly fancy, climbed up to the roof of the Duomo, and hid behind a rack of postcards to escape some rather persistent Italian boys.

This time Chris and I are heading to Rome, Praiano on the Amalfi Coast, and Naples. The plan is, essentially, to eat good food, swim in the sea, sea a few sights, and relax. I'm sure there will be plenty of pizza, gelato, and Campari photos on Instagram...

SUMMER 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 17:59:00 +0000

We were away last week. South for my sister's 40th birthday party, a few days in London, then five nights in Copenhagen. But that isn't what I'm writing about today.

Our flight was delayed coming back on Sunday night and we were in a taxi sometime around 11pm when Drake's 'One Dance' came on the radio with its sample of 'Do You Mind'.

We were living in a 5th floor flat, our second London flat after the one with the oddly shaped rooms and the small windows. This flat had five flights of stairs to walk up and there was a strange, slightly sweet, smell that we never managed to identify near the front door. It had a tiny kitchen and two uncomfortable blue sofas. But those five flights of stairs meant it was light, so light it bleached the spines of our books, and it had a balcony, that I once described as functional, that was just the right size for two.

Quite often though it was just me. Chris was working in retail at the time which meant him getting home later than me in the evenings and working at least one day every weekend. On a nice day I would sit with a book, my feet propped up on the railings, popping in and out for cold drinks. I would look at the view and listen to the sounds floating up from the street.

That summer the sounds that made me happiest were the songs that seemed to be everywhere in London at the time. A time when we would tune into pirate radio stations, the soundtrack almost inevitably something bouncy, the DJs would talk over it, rewind it, play it again. We would listen to 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees N Toes', 'In the Morning', 'Do You Mind', songs that made me smile, still make me smile, we would dance to them in our tiny kitchen.

So, now, hearing one song play in a taxi in Edinburgh I think of another one that played so frequently that summer. I think about sitting on the balcony in the sun hearing it blaring from a car on Stoke Newington Church Street. It still makes me smile, it still makes us dance in the kitchen.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 12:15:00 +0000

It’s been a rough start to the year and I’ve found myself a little blocked, emotionally, physically, generally. But International Women’s Day seems like a good time to unblock, or least to start the process of unblocking so on this day I’m going to offer you some things…

Some things to watch:

Margot Henderson

Girls – American Bitch

20^th Century Women

Some things to read:

Tavi Gevinson

Emma Watson on feminism

Sali Hughes on wearing red:

'Red is so much more than a colour. It’s a statement of intent, a demand to be acknowledged, a sign of simultaneous individuality and sisterly solidarity. It quite simply does not give a fuck when we women so often give far, far too many.'

Some things to do:

Take part in a day without women in whatever way you can. Strike, wear red, don’t spend money or only spend it in small women or minority owned businesses like this.

Something I wish I could see:

Georgie O'Keeffe

And, finally, one last thing to watch:

JANUARY 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 17:21:00 +0000

Happy new year!

I know I'm not alone in being preoccupied by the news this January. We went to the Women's March here on Saturday to stand alongside women all around the world. Seeing post after post on instagram and facebook from people doing the same on every continent felt like we were witnessing a giant outpouring of love and solidarity but it also made me realise that we can't do this one thing and then just stop. I feel, rightly or wrongly, limited in what I can do but then I thought about it.

I thought about the threat to Planned Parenthood in the US and the fact that in Northern Ireland women still can't have an abortion and realised that I can support a charity that helps them, along with women in Ireland and the Isle of Man, to travel to access safe abortions. Abortion Support Network.

I thought about the very obvious attempts by Trump to discredit journalism and the threat that poses and realised that I can support the place where I get most of my news. The Guardian.

I thought about people calling and writing to their representatives in the US and realised that I can and should be using my voice here as well, starting with a prompt from the organisers of the London Women's March. 10 actions.

It's just a start, but if we all view Saturday as a start rather than a one-off maybe, eventually, we'll get somewhere good.

CHRISTMAS 2016: FOR HIM

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 16:47:00 +0000

Clockwise from top left: Low Christmas because you listen to it together every year, bottled negroni and a new glass, spruce incense and an indigo quilt, a flock of starlings, the complete Michael Palin, spruce resin ointment and Santa socks, and finally, because he puts it on everything, a tiny bottle of sriracha that he can keep in his pocket.

CHRISTMAS 2016: FOR HER

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Fri, 25 Nov 2016 10:43:00 +0000

Clockwise from top left: The Future is Female, an incense holder with Japanese incense, perfume oil, House of Plants with a succulent wrapped up alongside, a marble pyramid to hold her jewellery, a book she's been meaning to read, a new pink bowl and a tub of her favourite ice-cream, cream mittens and warm socks, the complete Parks and Recreation because we need more Lesley Knopes in the world, a winter bergamot candle, and, finally, a boob bathmat because it'll make her laugh.

CHRISTMAS CAKE, AGAIN

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 17:01:00 +0000

I made my Christmas cake on Friday and not much has changed since I wrote about it four years ago.

I'm still making Nigel's cake and have been for, I think, 11 years now. I still use the same mix of dried fruit, I still bake it in late November or early December and then soak it regularly, sometimes with calvados, sometimes brandy. I still marzipan it and ice it and, most years, take it to Sussex to be eaten after Turkey sandwiches on Boxing Day.

I'm usually starting to feel ready for Christmas by this time of year but this year I've been feeling it a little more keenly. I've been putting things in jars ready to be presents since the Summer, we booked our flights south in September. I've been flicking through books planning what else to make, particularly Luisa's excellent book and its chapters on cookies and Christmas which have sent me online searching for baker's ammonia and gingerbread spices.

I'm going to be sharing some gift guides, just because I enjoy putting them together, but first, in case you want to make some of your presents donations to charity in the names of your favourite people, how about helping someone else to have a happy Christmas this year through Centrepoint.

NO WORDS

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 11:28:00 +0000

When something big happens in the world I struggle with what to do. To carry on as normal feels wrong, not acknowledging something that has shaken us to our core feels false. But what to write when so many write more eloquently and knowledgeably on the subject, when every time I try to talk about it I find I can't arrange my thoughts into anything other than a tumble of sadness and anger and horror at what is happening already, what could happen next.

Over the last week or so I've been thinking about our wedding in New York. Two days before we got married we went to the Marriage Bureau to collect our licence. It was busy that day and we waited in a line to be given a ticket to wait some more. In front of us were two men who I think were from Germany and I started to well up at the beauty of being in a place where anyone could go to get married and everyone there was entitled to the same treatment, the same license, the same ceremony. I felt that beauty over and over as we waited. We saw couples waiting, like us, for licences and couples waiting for their wedding ceremonies, couples of all orientations, races, nationalities, and ages. There were couples in jeans and couples in full wedding dresses and suits, there were couples on their own taking selfies on an iPad and grinning big grins, and couples with large families in tow. There was an overwhelming feeling of joy and love in the air. That's the America I know and that's the America that I choose to believe will beat this.

I thought this was a fitting way to end this post...

WRITE BLOG POST

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 15:47:00 +0000

It's been on my to do list all Summer. The thing that keeps being ignored in the rush of other things to do. I kept writing bits of posts and then abandoning them so failing a plan for today but wanting to finally break this rut I offer you these glimpses from Summer...

'On Sunday I was taught to meditate by a Scottish buddhist in a Motorhead t-shirt. He had long grey hair, silver skull rings, multiple earrings, and a soothing voice that took us through two meditations, so soothing that I almost dropped off.'

'On Friday I spent the day in the kitchen with the multiple pans and processes required for any Ottolenghi recipe. Taken at a slow pace I like the multiple processes, with time to clean as I go, ending up with a pastitsio ready to go in the oven, layered in a cake tin, it was time well spent. As the sauce cooked I made a strawberry cake, one I've made before, with local strawberries, I bought enough for the cake, and jam, and breakfast.'

And now I'm mostly wearing a pair of dungarees that I debated for six months and have lived in since finally deciding to buy them, making this dish which immediately became a weekly fixture round here, trying to knit, listening to this and watching this over and over, and liking these links:

This post
This recipe
These mittens
This book

And finally for those of us in need of some comfort viewing can I recommend watching any and all of Michael Palin's travel documentaries - particularly this episode of Around the World in 80 Days. I genuinely think there should be a Michael Palin channel and a David Attenborough channel on TV.

Happy Friday x

8TH JULY

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 14:46:00 +0000

We got back to Edinburgh on Tuesday evening after a holiday that had been much anticipated and was much enjoyed and now we're easing back into being at home with the usual post-holiday routines; going to work, doing endless washing of clothes only worn for those few short sunny weeks each year, cooking, trying to get my fill of the short Scottish berry season.

For me, being back at home also now means Fridays spent at home or, more importantly, Fridays spent away from work.

It's something I first thought of over a year ago and, in my usual way, debated on and off for the months that followed but only felt ready to take the plunge on after our holiday in Copenhagen earlier this year. I've struggled with it in some ways. That full-time work means five days a week, and, that if you can, you work full-time because, well, why wouldn't you, is so ingrained in our idea of what work is. But, the idea of one day a week just for me, for being quiet, or for making, or writing, or cooking, sounded like it would be good for me, something I could do that would be positive rather than feeling like a passive observer of a working life that I wasn't able to muster much enthusiasm for.

So, here I am, and so far today has included some very important catching up on the last two episodes of Game of Thrones, one of those loads of holiday washing, a little tidying up, writing some emails, baking a cake, and finally writing this, the first thing that actually feels like I'm writing in quite some time, something that I hope will be a feature of more weeks in future.

ALMOST THERE

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 10:02:00 +0000

A few more hours of work and then it's time for a break. A break booked in January in the dark days and now here. Work has been whittled down, crossing items off the list to a point where I know I won't have to think about anything left undone.

But before then we're off to see Belle & Sebastian in Glasgow tonight. It's 20 years since Tigermilk was released, 19 years since I started listening to them in our kitchen in university halls, 12 years (I think) since I first saw them live. It's always just pure joy to see them, I can't wait.

29TH APRIL

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 16:05:00 +0000

EGGS
I'm a cereal person. Some of my earliest memories include sitting at the table eating cereal and reading the backs of cereal packets, as a fairly fussy eater I would have happily existed on Coco Pops, my childhood cereal of choice and the cereal my Aunt always made sure she had in the house when we went to stay with her in Chester (and the cereal that sometimes still appears, usually when I'm in need of childish comfort or when I'm at my parents' house and I'm tempted by the cereals that have been bought for my 12 year old nephew). We would dig down into the box looking for plastic wrapped toys, collect coupons to send off for a branded bowl or mug.

I grew up and my cereal choices expanded through a period of bran flakes and sultana bran, into muesli, porridge, and granola (the grown-ups sugary cereal of choice) as they do. But recently I've been thinking that this might not be the best way to start my days. That sleepy bowl of cereal often means I'm hungry again shortly after I get to work, even porridge can leave me with a rumbling stomach by mid-morning.

So, for the last week I've been trying something else (something that also fits my recent realisation that drinking strong coffee first thing in the morning can, at times, send my head off in a slightly unpleasant direction and make my heart beat in a way definitely not recommended). I've been getting up and drinking a very large mug of tea from my favourite tea-drinking mug, having a shower, and then going back to the kitchen to boil two eggs using Molly's method. I make coffee while they boil then sit at the table. I sprinkle salt over the eggs, I eat and I read and, usually, I'm not hungry again until lunchtime.

BOOKS
I bought a Kindle last Autumn. After not understanding the appeal, after saying it wasn't for me. But this isn't the point where I say I'm a total convert, that I haven't picked up a real printed on paper book since. I bought it for those books that I will only ever read once, the books that I don't expect to develop an attachment to, the page turners where the story only really works in its first telling, the books that I bought and that sat on our bookshelves for a few years before, inevitably, they ended up at a charity shop or passed on to other people to enjoy. And, as it turns out, that is exactly what I have ended up liking it for. It serves a purpose, and I'm sure my occasional late night reading sessions are better tolerated when I'm reading by the Kindle's light instead of the bedside light, but a lot of the time I just miss the paper. I miss flicking back through pages to remind myself what happened, I miss checking to see how much there is left in a chapter while deciding just how long that late night reading session might last, I miss book covers, and, as it turns out, I just can't seem to connect to books in the same way when they're on a screen rather than in my hands.

This morning I finished reading this. Mum passed it on to me when I was staying a few months ago. I started reading it sitting on the grass and eating my lunch, the first day it was nice enough to eat outside. I finished it wearing a flannel shirt, eating eggs and ham, drinking coffee, wondering whether it would snow today or just be cold, wet, miserable. I read it in bed, lying on my side turning the pages, each time realising that it was too late and I needed to go to sleep. I dropped it in my bag to pick up and read a few pages at a time. I read it while I made my coffee with something sitting on top to weigh down the pages when I couldn't hold it open. And as I finished it I cried for those characters and I thought about what comes from a book, whether it's just about the content or whether the act of holding a book in your hands, turning pages, making it your own can do something to you too. I like to think so.

18TH FEBRUARY

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 14:51:00 +0000

Today is cold but the brightness makes me want to dress for Spring. Fed up with my usual Winter clothes I dug out a coat that I bought when I was 21 on my first trip to Paris, our first visit together. We were there in January on the coldest of days and I remember the light being blue, sitting outside the Sacré-Cœur with a freezing fog over the city, going up the Eiffel Tower at night before finding somewhere to warm up. I came home with my coat from the APC sale and a vintage stripy jumper. I still have both but rarely wear either, I'm not sure why.

Along with thoughts of Spring here are a few things I've been distracting myself with lately.

This article: 'I don’t want to constantly be working on myself, or powering through tough times with validating, feel-good platitudes. We have bad days; we feel bad about ourselves. That’s OK'.
Crisp cookies
Cold weather cooking
Breakfast bites and these seedy squares
This new to me brand
These glittery socks
This house (shot by Brian)
And this house which I would quite like to run away to...

LITTLE THINGS

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:42:00 +0000

It's the little things. This morning I popped to a spot near work to get coffee and handed over my loyalty card to be stamped. The guy stamped the 7th spot and then just kept going from 8 - 12 before handing it back and saying my next coffee would be free. A little thing, a good thing.

This weekend there should be more good things as we're trying out a new Turkish place with friends, planning gyros, gelato and a few galleries. I hope you have good things coming your way too, here's my contribution...

THE YEAR SO FAR

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 14:15:00 +0000

This year started as years can, with a shocking hangover following a night of fun with friends. From there there has been a bout of tonsillitis for me, a couple of unexpectedly late nights (it's nice to know that we can still dance until 3am once in a while), gyros from a new place that made us feel like we were back in Greece and that lead to us heading home to book flights back to Greece for real. We've planned a trip to Copenhagen in the Spring and I've tried a few new recipes, roasted Brussels sprouts with salmon, cauliflower cheese baked potatoes. I went to a sewing class and started a new pottery class.

And now, after too much rain and too many dark days, the sun is shining. It may still be cold but I can take that.

And my hopes for the year? To do some sewing at home, to carry on at pottery producing wonky bowl after wonky bowl, to go to yoga and not worry too much about my lack of flexibility, to bake the occasional loaf of bread, to get outside, to have more breakfasts like this...

CHRISTMAS 2015: FOR THE KITCHEN

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 12:53:00 +0000

Clockwise from top left: a porridge making kit - pan, syrup, bowl, stirrer, and oats; a copper coffee scoop, a Christmas mug, and festive coffee; a handmade indigo plate and a delivery of eccles cakes; an enamel tray, sourdough chocolate from a local favourite, and a new book that's had nothing but good reviews.

CHRISTMAS 2015: FOR HER

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Wed, 09 Dec 2015 14:36:00 +0000

Clockwise from top left: rye crumb, milk, and sea salt chocolate , a sheepskin rug for her side of the bed, a gold ear cuff just because, a sweet, or not so sweet, custom engraved heart necklace, a 1950s edition of a favourite book, pink wool socks and a cashmere hat, a new favourite mug and a book to read over a cup of tea because we really should all be feminists, a marble candleholder and beeswax candles to cheer up these dark, dark nights.

CHRISTMAS 2015: FOR HIM

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 10:45:00 +0000

Clockwise from top left: sandalwood soap, Steely Dan, Mikkeller bourbon with the best label and a tumbler to serve it in, a packable tote for weekends away, a clock to tell the time in all his favourite cities, a classic grey sweatshirt, an angular bookend and Edwin Morgan, and finally, because, well, why not - BOOBS!

DECEMBER

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 12:35:00 +0000

It's been almost three months. In that time we've moved, finally, into a new flat. We've unpacked and got settled. We've found places for our things and have enjoyed being close to shops where we can pop out at the weekend to buy good bread and cheese. We've had our first person to stay and have had friends for dinner. We've decided to stay put for Christmas.

I've got just over two weeks left at work before a much awaited two and a bit week break and I can't wait. But these weeks are pretty full and I try to keep my focus at work, listening to music as I plough through spreadsheets, stopping my mind drifting to Christmas presents and baking and time spent at home.

So, for now, I'll leave you with this which has been stuck in my head for the last two days and I'll be back tomorrow...

SEPTEMBER

noreply@blogger.com (Gemma) — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 16:06:00 +0000

This time last year we were arriving in Seattle, 6 days into a 3 week break. This year I'm at work and glad that Friday is here. August flew by in a blur of festival times and miserable weather but it was fun and now it's September and we've been enjoying a few days of Indian Summer while feeling the first hints of Autumn, the first days when the evenings are feeling just that bit darker.

Until then though, while it's still more Summer than Autumn a few highlights from the last little while...

Edwyn Collins and Grace Maxwell at the Book Festival- talking, signing and a signing, Such a treat.
My new favourite stripes
Ballet Zurich
A perfect Summer beer
And, finally I would watch Recomposed being played again and again if I could (and would probably cry every time).