Your inside out Heyday Friday newsletter
Slightly late eco-friendly spring cleaning tips for indoors, a celebration of the finally sunny outdoors and a hilarious and simultaneously sobering TV recommendation in this week's newsletter
Hello!
My levels of delight are currently peaking thanks to being able to report that as I compose this newsletter, this is my view
The sun has finally put in an appearance here in London (whoop, whoop) and I have at last unveiled the garden furniture after its long winter, tarpaulin-clad hibernation (there’s cleaning, sanding, varnishing and general maintenance still to do, but that can definitely wait), and decamped to my outside ‘office’ at the garden table under the wisteria-draped pergola.
There’s even washing drying in the sunshine for the first time this year (that’s a sheet you can see on the left).
All in all, it’s utterly lovely in every way. Except maybe one…..
Because the welcome sunshine that has at last flooded in through my windows has revealed the rather less welcome evidence of the need for some slightly more scrupulous cleaning than I realised was required when the house and I were hunkered down avoiding the incessant rain of the last few weeks (not least to the aforementioned windows).
So, whilst I realise it’s very late in the season to be talking about spring cleaning, that is the subject of this week’s blog. And specifically, the environmentally kind cleaning hacks that I have found to be the most effective, and in some cases surprising, at this or any time of year.
You can find out what they are by CLICKING HERE
SMART SAVE TIPS OF THE WEEK
Because you’re one of the Heydays Substack gang (thank you - please do consider becoming a subscriber if you aren’t already. And if you are, a double thank you), here are a couple of bonus tips just for you.
2tsp of bicarbonate of soda mixed with warm water into a thin paste is great for spot cleaning stains on carpets. Dab the paste into the stain, massage in gently and leave to dry. Hoover off the dry powder, and rub lightly with a dampened clean cloth.
If you have a piece of white furniture, whether its melamine, shiny, glossy composite material or painted wood, that has a stain on it, grab a tube of toothpaste. Simply massage some on the stain, leave for 15 mins and then clean off. It’s properly amazing how effective this on marks, whether they’re recent or old.
Check out THE BLOG for all the other invaluable cleaning hacks.
Of course you might prefer to adopt the approach of this
FRIDAY FUNNY
and I certainly wouldn’t judge you for it
WHAT’S MADE ME HAPPY THIS WEEK
Honestly there’s been so much. Not least my nephew’s gloriously happy wedding, and my darling grand-girl’s delightfully chaotic second birthday party. But not wishing to spam you with family-related videos, I’ll continue the outdoor theme with these of a garden close to where I live which, at this time every year erupts in the most sensational display of colour and which never fails to lift my spirits when it does. (Excuse the rather less lovely bins!)
THIS WEEK I’VE BEEN……WATCHING
It sort of goes without saying that outdoors, in all its beauty and brutality, is the setting for all the series of Clarkson’s Farm, the third of which arrived - or at least the first four episodes did - on Amazon Prime Video this week.
If you’re not yet familiar with, or a fan of, this, what’s referred to as ‘structured reality’ show (meaning it’s not scripted and whilst all of what you see is reality, much of it is set up to happen so it can be filmed. But certainly not all, as is very apparent in the third and fourth episodes of this series), then a viewing treat on so many levels awaits you.
A bit of background - journalist and broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson has owned his 1,000 acre farm in the Cotswolds for many years. When the farmer who ran it retired in 2019, Jeremy decided to take over the job himself and with the help of almost constantly incredulous farm hand Kaleb, almost constantly despairing land manager Charlie, almost constantly incomprehensible helper Gerald, and astonishingly patient girlfriend Lisa, he has, with frequently disastrous results, been doing that ever since.
Following his often chaotic progress is both wildly amusing and a truly sobering insight into the absurdly difficult and ruinously expensive - there’s a reason Jeremy has called his farm Diddly Squat, the profit for his first year was just £144 - process of getting food onto our collective tables. For all the humour and laugh-out-loud moments, and there are plenty of them, there’s pathos, heartache and frustration - the bureaucracy, both local and national, that farmers have to deal with is head-shakingly ludicrous - too. The Farmers Union has praised Clarkson’s Farm as the best insight into the realities and challenges of farming that has ever been made.
If you haven’t seen the first two series, I really really recommend you do. Then dive into series three with hankies at hand - for tears of laughter and sadness. And that’s just in the first four episodes.
You can watch CLARKSONS FARM on Amazon Prime Video
And see a trailer for the new series HERE
WORDS OF WISDOM
Here’s Jeremy’s summary of what it takes to be a farmer
That’s it for this week. Whilst I enjoy my lunch with a new found appreciation, I’d appreciate it very much (see what I did there) if you would drop a little like heart at the end of this - provided you’ve enjoyed it obviously. I didn’t realise that it helps make this more visible to people who rummage around Substack but haven’t yet discovered the delights of Heydays.
Thank you and see you next time.
Great read ,thanks xx
It is quite lovely where you live. :).