Help! It's the summer holidays!
Who's up for an August Amnesty? Plus, Soho House Ibiza, outdoor candles, Cornish living and so much more.
Next week, the nursery term will end for my eldest son. The summer holidays are here! Once upon a time, when I myself was a child, that actually meant what it said. It was summer and there would be holidays. Exciting! Not anymore.
I am now slightly phobic about the summer holidays because I’m a parent and I work full-time. These two things are not compatible, yet somehow we all pretend that it’s all perfectly normal and reasonable. It’s not, is it?
Normal and reasonable would mean that adults were given six weeks off work, too. You know, coz kids need looking after and stuff. But no. Instead, we have ‘holiday camps,’ a way for parents to carry on working as normal, but be £250 poorer a week for the pleasure.
Camps are action-packed days of fun, hosted by schools and sports clubs. Your kids doubtlessly prefer them to the classroom, but that doesn’t stop the guilt. No matter that they’ve been spending their days bouncing on giant inflatables or splashing in a pool, you’ll lie in bed at the end of your working day scrolling Instagram and feeling bad that they aren’t ‘making memories’ at London aquarium, flying to Mauritius or petting llamas with you at the zoo.
Oh – and most camps finish at 3pm. You know, because your job finishes at 3pm. Except, hang on, it doesn’t, does it? But pour a bit more money in and they can stay an extra couple of hours. Phew.
Pre-children, I had zero appreciation for any of this. If anything, I would judge my colleagues for dashing off early - muttering something about pick-up. ‘Part-timers,’ we would all joke, as they legged it out at 3.30pm every day. Oh, how I take it back. I beg their forgiveness! They were never part-timers. They were working two jobs.
I love my kids as much as anyone, but can I make a suggestion? Should we perhaps make the school holidays a little bit shorter? One month would do just fine. In fact it would be a pleasure. A little day trip to the Science Museum one week, breakfast at the V&A café the next – and you’d already be on the home straight. The August Amnesty, we could call it, if we wanted to make it official? It could go down in the history books! Who’s in?
HOME COMFORTS WITH… ANGIE AUDRETSCH
Angie is hands-down one of the coolest people I know. She showed me the ropes when I entered the world of superyacht journalism back in the day and even bagged us both a night on board a superyacht for the Monaco Yacht Show within weeks of me starting out. What a good egg. She’s now Head of Brand at the David Gandy-backed London Sock Co – the best and brightest socks in the land.
Where do you live and how long have you lived there for?
I live in a lovely wee town called Wellington on the Somerset/Devon border. Nice and close to Taunton for quick trains to London, but beautifully surrounded by the Quantox, Exmoor and Blackdown Hills. I’ve lived here for almost five years now.
How did you find your home?
My husband Alex is Cornish and had been campaigning for a move to the South West for as long as I can remember. I, on the other hand, was still very much gripping tightly to life in the Big Smoke. A few big shifts (Alex leaving the army, Covid, Archie getting to school age) made me realise the time had come to finally make the leap. My criteria were pretty straightforward: good London links, nice schools and somewhere I could still get a decent flat white and some sort of sourdough-based brunch (so basic, I know). We honed in on Taunton as a good hub – under two hours to Paddington – and then basically played Rightmove roulette with the surrounding towns. We decided to rent first to see if we actually liked Wellington… and, as luck would have it, the rental turned out to be my dream home. I spent the next few months gently (and shamelessly) charming our lovely landlord, Peter, and eventually managed to convince him to sell it to us. We agreed the sale over WhatsApp – absolute dream.
Who is at home with you? (include pets!)
The aforementioned Cornishman Alex and sons, Archie (8) and Gus (6). No pets because living with three boys (one ex-army) is akin to living with three excitable labradoodles. The energy levels require lots of outdoor walks, cold water swims, snacks and throwing balls!
Your favourite thing about the house and your biggest niggle about it
My favourite thing about this house is the amount of space. Before we made the decision to move to Somerset, we were looking at houses in Egham with a maximum of 2.5 bedrooms and pokey gardens. Here, we have three floors, the boys have their own bedrooms, there’s a guest room and an office, and most importantly we have our own en-suite bathroom! I don’t have to share the shower with Octonaut toys or hide my Neal’s Yard shower oil! My bugbear is the kitchen … it’s just a bit ‘meh’.
Where did you grow up? Did anything about your childhood home inspire your current home?
We moved around when I was growing up – from Canada to Oman to Scotland. Our homes were all very different but the common theme was lots of antiques and eclectic bits from the family travels. Our house now is very similar. No unifying aesthetic or chic interior design vibes – just random things we have collected or inherited or found on adventures. Persian rugs, Inuit carvings, Indonesian artwork, Household Cavalry paraphernalia from Alex, upcycled furniture from junk shops. Somehow it works.
How do you feel about household chores… are you a domestic goddess or a leave-it-to-the-morning kind of person?
I am 100% a leave-it-to-the-morning person in general. I hate cleaning. And yet I feel like I am continuously doing laundry, tidying surfaces of Lego and Beyblades, picking up Babybel wrappers stuck down sofa cushions and hoovering dried Cheerios from under the kitchen table. We have an amazing cleaner for a couple of hours once a week who makes sure that the house gets properly sparkly-shiny-sanitised clean. Best money I spend.
What’s your current TV obsession?
My TV life is split into two. There are the shows that I can only watch with Alex on pain of divorce if either of us skip ahead. And there are the guilty pleasure reality shows I watch on my own. Together we just finished Four Seasons, which was brilliant. Written by Tina Fey following six old college friends who annually holiday together. My ‘me time’ trash at the moment is Below Deck. I couldn’t watch it when I was in the thick of yachting journalism because it was like work, but now I love it.
Best home comfort meal?
Don’t judge, but for me the ultimate comfort dinner if I’m eating solo is a bowl of sultana bran with ice cold milk. Unbeatable. Otherwise, if I have to cook, Mac and cheese made only from my Oma’s recipe. You have to make extra so that you can eat it cold the next day.
Book currently on your bedside table?
My bedside table is a jumble of books at all times. A handful of well-loved favourites that I regularly return to for comfort reading (Nancy Mitford’s Pursuit of Love), a couple self-help-y ones to dip into when I (fleetingly) have the energy to try being a better me (Smarter by Emily Austen), highly-recommended ones that have been patiently waiting for me to finally pick them up, plus whatever I am actually reading.
Background noise in your house?
I love Greg James, so even though I am far too old to be listening to BBC Radio 1, I’ll usually have the Breakfast Show on so I can listen to his dulcet tones. The rest of the day I’ll switch to BBC Radio 6 Music so I can work to its ridiculously random playlists – hipster indie followed by post-punk followed by some Brazilian jazz.
My garden is….
A work in progress! I have a small veggie patch and am proficient in growing courgettes, our raspberry and strawberry harvests are satisfactory, I know how to deadhead and prune roses now and I am mildly obsessed with tracking the growth ofour banana plant. Weeding can get in the bin though.
Have you ever lived elsewhere in the world (or country) - what was the most memorable thing about your home there?
My family moved from Canada to Muscat in Oman when I was six years old (oil brat). We lived there for just over five years before moving to Aberdeen (that was quite the big change … ) but my time in Oman had such an impact on me. I was typically in cheap flip fops, scrambling over rocks or beaches or desert dunes, sun-kissed and scruffy. The Omani people were always warm and welcoming, the landscapes were vast and untamed, the heat was immense, the sea was always turquoise and full of life. In the early ‘90s it was still fairly closed off to tourism, so getting to experience it as a visitor was a real privilege. Our house was big and open, with cool stone floors, high ceilings and the ever-present hum of the A/C. A beautiful big pink bougainvillea cascaded down outside the front door. If I close my eyes I can still smell the unique dry dusty air, hear the constant drone of cicadas and the melodic calls to prayers from the mosque down the road.
Your favourite home from home?
I am lucky enough to have two. My in-law’s cottage in Tintagel is only an hour and a half from us and looks out over the ocean. Our favourite beach, Trebarwith, is just a short walk along the cliffs and it is glorious in summer but wild and moody in winter. Not only does this home-from-home come with live-in babysitters, but the best cups of tea. My other home-from-home is with my parents on Gabriola Island, an island off of Vancouver Island. I am rarely happier than when I’m sipping my morning coffee here, overlooking the ocean, breathing in the smell of the towering pines and keeping my eyes peeled for whales, otters and seals.
TRAVEL STUFF
Soho House Ibiza
I was a luxury travel journalist for a decade or two, and I still get asked where my favourite hotel is. I think people expect it to be somewhere fancy or obscure, but the truth is it has long been Cas Gasi, an unassuming little boutique hotel in rural Ibiza. I loved it. Anyway, I read this weekend that it’s gone. And Soho Farmhouse has moved in. I’m not sure how I feel about this, but fingers crossed they do it proud.
GIFTY STUFF
FeYi Flowers
These are the best bouquets to send to pals, wrapped in newspaper and imprinted with headlines like ‘you were made to bloom!’ Founded by former Channel 4 PR, Eni Awoyemi, FeYi has been gathering pace ever since Stormzy bigged them up on his socials a few months back. They do same day delivery if you live in London, too.
GARDEN STUFF
Citronella Candles
I don’t know about you but I’ve been ravaged by mozzies this summer and I haven’t even been on holiday yet. Time for some citronella candles for the outdoor table. I like these ones by Sophie Allport. Just £20 a pop, which in the world of wax, is actually very reasonable.
Ok, that’s all from me. Congrats on surviving the heatwave. See you next week! If you enjoyed today’s edition - hit the like button and share far and wide!
Dx
p.s
👩🦰 If you are like me and thought Batiste was the only dry shampoo out there, let me introduce you to Living Proof. Total game changer in the ‘not washing my hair today’ stakes.
🧢 One can never have too many slogan caps.
👗 Shhh, just one little M&S link for good measure, it’s practically a tradition at this point.
August Amnesty - I am in!