Your sunshine-filled Heyday Friday newsletter
A newsletter that's full of the joys of early spring this week - there's a terrific book recommendation, a delicious recipe, a great spring cleaning tip, and some slippery hilarity to enjoy.
Hello!
I know its almost certainly false spring, fools spring, tricked-you-into-thinking-it’s-spring or whatever other glass-half-empty moniker the meteorological miseries choose to use, but I’m fully revelling in the fact that the weather here in London is not only sunny - for the SIXTH day in a row - but actually warm enough to have windows around the house flung wide, and one of the folding doors to my little garden fully open whilst I sit here typing.
It’s sooo spirit raising how much of a difference the appearance of the sun makes. Instead of being hunched up against the elements, people in the streets in my little enclave of the capital are not only walking a little taller, looking a little cheerier, but even *whisper it* smiling at each other (that may be par for the course in other parts of the country/world, but it’s sadly more of a rarity here).
Then there are all the spring-is-indeed-on-it’s-way flowers putting in their appearances. Hello there delicate snowdrops, colourful crocuses and dancing daffodils. Can we also give a little whoop of joy for the fact that it’s not getting properly dark until almost 7pm. And that it’ll be fully seven months before the sun sets at this time again. Whoop indeed.
Enough of the climate chat and on with the newsletter business of the day.
First off: there’s no blog to direct you to this week. I didn’t have anything burning to write about, so in the spirit of not berating myself more than absolutely necessary, I haven’t tried to magic something up, and rather have poured some extra helpings of joy, inspiration and fun into this missive. You’re welcome.
SMART SAVE TIP OF THE WEEK
Of course the disadvantage (I want to say only disadvantage, because I honestly can’t think of another) of this glorious sunshine is that it doesn’t half show up how filthy I’ve allowed my windows to get.
I can’t say I’m a fan of window cleaning, or that I don’t avail myself of the services of a professional window cleaner. I’m not, and I do. But for the times in-between his visits (or when I jet clean my patio just two days after he has made my french doors all sparkly, splattering them with a winter’s worth of grime from the paving stones in the process….ahem….), who else could I turn to but my NBF (new best friend - see THIS newsletter to find out how that came about) Nancy Birtwhistle for the best way to get clean, streak-free windows whilst being kind to the environment.
Start by brushing the glass with a soft brush to get rid of any dust or cobwebs (both brutishly difficult to remove when they’re wet).
Then take a bucket of warm water with a generous squirt of eco-friendly washing up liquid, wring out a cloth and wipe the window starting at the top and working downwards, rinsing the cloth as often as necessary.
Spray the cleaned glass with vinegar and use the damp cloth to wipe it over. Then use a dry, soft cloth to shine the glass.
If you’re cleaning the inside of windows, give them a good polish with the dry cloth to make sure there aren’t any streaks. If you’re doing the outsides, polish them quickly before the vinegar has had a chance to dry. Either way, don’t choose a sunny day to do the job, everything will dry too quickly if you do and you won’t be able to get the perfect streak-free finish.
If you’re anything like me - and Nancy - having some suitably upbeat music on whilst you’re tackling this job makes it go so much quicker (and more rhythmically).
FRIDAY FUNNY
I don’t imagine the inimitable Joan Rivers would have been keen on window cleaning either, bearing in mind her attitude towards housework in general.
THIS WEEK I’VE BEEN……READING
The irony of Lila Kennedy’s husband leaving her for the younger mother of a child at their daughter’s school, shortly after her book on keeping a long marriage alive becomes a best-seller, compounds her hurt and humiliation. But that’s only one of the challenges facing Jojo Moyes’s oh-so-relatable, mid-life heroine.
Her beloved mother has died in an accident, and her kind, elderly step-father, Bill, seems to have taken up residence with Lila and her two girls, taking it upon himself to improve their eating habits by producing meals which rely rather too much on lentils. Bill has also decided that Lila’s garden needs redesigning and has commissioned a gardener to give it a makeover.
The older of her daughters is grappling with teenage challenges of her own and becoming less communicative by the day. Lila’s income is dwindling, the plumbing in her increasingly chaotic house is getting ever less reliable, her writing has stalled and the possibility of finding love again in future seems at best unlikely. Oh and then there’s her determinedly unruly dog.
So when her birth father - a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago - suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw.
But Gene’s egocentric, larger-than-life presence changes things for Lila and her hotch-potch family in ways none of them expect. There are flare-ups and fights, but there’s also unexpected joy and connection in a story that’s filled with the kind of page-turning insight and readability that makes Moyes novels so rewarding and enjoyable.
We All Live Here explores the meaning of family, the nature of resilience, the discomfort of forgiveness and, overarching and underpinning everything, the ultimately reassuring power of love.
You can find We All Live Here in all bookshops including WH Smith, and on-line
Even though it doesn’t involve lentils, I think Bill would approve of how healthy and tangy this Mindful Chef fish dish is. (It’s another one I wolfed down before belatedly realising I should have photographed it first, duh. So this is their pic. My meal looked reassuringly similar - and appetising - when I’d finished preparing it)
SMOKY HAKE TRAYBAKE WITH CAPER SALSA
This amount will serve two and takes 40 mins to prepare and cook.
Preheat the oven to 240C/fan 220C/gas 9
Cut 6 baby potatoes into 1cm thick slices. Lay out on a lined baking tray, drizzle with 1tbsp oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 20 mins
Roughly chop 10g capers, and a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley and mix with 1tbsp oil, the juice from 1 lemon and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Thinly slice one red pepper
After the potatoes have been in the oven for 20 mins, top with the sliced pepper, 110g small seasonal tomatoes and then put 2 hake fillets on the top. Spread the fish with some vegan ‘nduja (it should be available in supermarkets, but you can find it HERE. Alternatively, spice up some tomato paste with paprika and chilli), drizzle with 1tsp oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for a further 15 mins or until the hake is cooked through.
Serve with some rocket and drizzle over the salsa.
WHAT’S MADE ME HAPPY THIS WEEK
Although spring is springing here in the UK, this is also a popular time for winter sports fans to be heading to the ski slopes. I used to ski every year but I haven’t been since before the pandemic and I do miss the fabulous mountain air and the exhilaration of wizzing down the runs, especially on beautiful sunny days.
Of course, the potential for all manner of mishaps is never far away when you’re strapped to something designed to be a slippery as possible, and I’ve certainly witnessed, and experienced, the last of these hilarious unfortunate incidents on many occasions. The others? Not so much with the ones involving a frozen lake, a four legged intruder, the acrobatic snow boarder, or the somersaulting skier, but the rest, oh yes.
My love of skiing featured in THIS BLOG for two different reasons, as you’ll discover when you read it.
Finishing off with some flower-related
WORDS OF WISDOM
(Walter Hagen was an American professional golfer who apparently ‘dressed stylishly, lived extravagantly and always insisted that he be received as a gentleman.’ He sounds rather marvellous, doesn’t he?)
That’s it for this week. I’m heading into my garden to catch the last rays of the day.
Hope the sun shines wherever you are this week.
See you next time
