The Martini is a drink I simply adore. It was the very essence of grown up sophistication to my teenage self who one day imagined, hoped and grafted to one day move to the big city, listen to hot jazz and drink ice-cold gin. Such guff gets written and said about the wonder that is … Continued
Lucy Whitehouse’s My First Time series begins firmly at the bottom. If you’re going to write a gratuitously self-indulgent lifestyle blog, probably better start at the bottom and work your way up. Earn a bit of cachet, build up a devoted following, gain a few hysterical fans (dreaming big here) before you even think about … Continued
Why aren’t we way past weddings as major markers of adult life? Sian Gardiner ran the London Marathon last year – the hottest on record at that – and reckons there’s more to life than putting a ring on it. Here, she explores why we still can’t seem to celebrate more meaningful milestones. At a … Continued
As London struggles through the dark and miserable start to the year, the skies a uniform and oppressive grey. It’s at times such as this that you need a wine which can beguile even the most jaded of palates. It is those reds from the Loire, at turns delightful, light, fresh and quaffable, that I … Continued
Valentine’s Day is a key day for breakups, apparently. You owe every other person the respect of a graceful conclusion, and they owe you that too. Here’s how. A text from a close friend in romantic crisis, Galentines rolled out again as the dutifully crap portmanteau it is, and Sex Education trending on Netflix: it … Continued
Lucy Whitehouse has spent the past five years living, working or at times just visiting countries in Europe in a bid to learn four languages in five years. We discover how she got on. The quest to reach a passable level of linguistic prowess continues. It’s not proving quite the unadulterated four-languages-in-five-years triumph that I … Continued
Instead of tackling the BIG issues when it comes to feminism, I am going to go personal, because really in this it is the personal that makes the political. For me it starts with my hair. My very big, naturally curly, frizzy hair that unfortunately was not the “in” style when I was growing up. … Continued
Recently, I have made a wonderful discovery, comparable only to the apple falling on Newton’s head- I came across (more accurately, was introduced to) the ‘good bad’ novels of Angela Thirkell. Thirkell wrote delightfully staid novels through the 1930s-50s, in which very little happened, but a good time was had by all. A cross between … Continued
Hong Kong has a reputation as a place to greedily indulge an appetite. When the typhoon subsides and it is once again possible to step outside you can eat almost anything, cooked almost any which way. It said of the Hongkongers that they will eat anything with legs except a table and anything with … Continued