Ready, get set, go with your Heyday Friday newsletter
Christmas is up and running with a really useful blog, a festive-related film recommendation, a joyful Christmassy house and a crafty tip, all in this week's newsletter
Hello!
It’s safe to say that Christmas is very much kicking off now. Radio Two have started playing Christmas songs. Houses all around where I live are being decked out for the festive season (see below). And today (if you’re reading this on Nov 29th) is Black Friday here in the UK, when retailers fire the starting pistol on what they hope will be the Christmas buying frenzy with a raft of special offers and price cuts (which we do also know aren’t always as much of a bargain as they appear, so careful checking is necessary before plunging into a purchase).
As you’re aware, I’ve become increasingly uneasy about our general over-consumption, so I wasn’t sure whether or not to write this week’s blog. Equally, though, I’m very much the opposite of a Christmas, or gift-giving, humbug and can’t think of anything more satisfying or happiness-inducing than giving someone a present I know will be not just enjoyed but really useful too.
So if you CLICK HERE you’ll find my top suggestions for presents with a purpose. Even though some of them aren’t exactly glamorous, they are all items which I guarantee will delight their recipients with their usefulness. Some come with a bigger price tag, others would make cheap as chips stocking fillers. Like this one (not the mug, what’s on top of it. And if you don’t know what it is, READ THE BLOG to find out!)
THIS WEEK I’VE BEEN……WATCHING
I could say what with Christmas being all about a special birth, this seemed a particularly appropriate moment to choose to watch a film all about the three fiercely dedicated pioneers behind the medical-breakthrough creation of IVF. But whilst I’d really love to give the impression that my life is as joined up as I try to make this newsletter, the real reason I chose it was because I’m a big fan of both Bill Nighy and James Norton (who star in it along with the excellent Thomasin McKenzie) and when I heard James talking about it on the Graham Norton Show, I thought it sounded great.
Which, I’m delighted to report, it absolutely is. Indeed, not just great but ultimately wonderfully joyous too.
Of course, we all know where the story ends (spoiler alert - with the birth of the first ‘test tube’ baby, Louise Brown in 1978) but I wonder how many of us were aware of how long it took for the trio to bring their shared medical vision to fruition (over a decade), or how huge the hurdles were that they faced - not just scientific but moral, ethical and furiously opposed public and media opinion. I certainly wasn’t.
Choosing to focus the story on lab manager Jean Purdey, the embryologist nurse and steadfast driving force behind the work of pioneering biologist Robert Edwards (a bullishly believable James Norton) and progressive obstetrician, Dr Patrick Steptoe (equally on-form Bill Nighy), this is a tale of dogged determination, heart-wrenching setbacks, and testing self-sacrifice which leaves you emotionally wrung out at times, but ultimately uplifted by the sensitive and touching telling of such a significant story.
You can watch JOY on Netflix
And see the trailer HERE
WORDS OF WISDOM
The scale of the achievement and impact of the team’s work is movingly summed up in this quote from Louise Brown (here in this pic with Patrick Steptoe)
A bet-you-didn’t-know-that fact about Louise and her family - her sister Natalie was the 40th IVF baby to be born.
WHAT’S MADE ME HAPPY THIS WEEK
I rarely pass a house sporting any aforementioned Christmas adornment without a smile, but the enthusiasm with which this one has embraced the festivities - even spilling out onto the pavement in front of it - really made me inordinately happy. I’m sure it looks even more magical at night.
You get a better idea of the pavement-embracing twinkleness from the other side of the road
SMART SAVE TIP OF THE WEEK
Whilst I fully appreciate this might only be of interest to parents, grandparents or anyone who uses these for art or craft activities, it’s something that brilliantly, and brilliantly simply, satisfies my fix-don’t-chuck ethos.
FRIDAY FUNNY
I wonder how many of you can relate to this tweet from a dad on being proudly presented with a picture by his four year old (for anyone not in the know, Elsa is a character from the animated hit film Frozen)
That’s it for this week. Hope any artistic efforts you might receive, or bargains you might bag, bring you plenty of pleasure.
To round off back on the Christmas theme, if any of you would be interested and able to get there, I’m going to be singing along with 150 other members of the London Rock Choirs around the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square on the Sunday before Christmas - that’s Dec 22nd - at 4pm. It’s my absolute favourite gig of the year, a really magical experience, for us and everyone listening. And as there’s a Christmas market in the square too, you can enjoy a cup of mulled wine whilst singing along to the Christmassy tunes. If you do come, please be sure to say hello afterwards!
Would love to know if you have any other useful items to add to the ones in THE BLOG, do let me know in the comments. And as always, a little click on the like heart would be very much appreciated.
Have a lovely week and see you next time.
