I took this snap of my daughter going into the polling station yesterday. I’m thrilled & proud she’s won her seat in parliament. She will work so hard for everyone in Chester South & Eddisbury. She’s her mother’s daughter: simply the best. Congratulations @AphraBrandreth
My lovely friend Lulu came over to watch the telly last night – and look what she brought me! I love a hydrangea. I love Lulu. I love life. Here’s to a blooming marvellous day for one and all! Good morning.
They’re already gathering for the game where I am …
A funeral just now – but also a wonderful celebration. The lovely family of @janemccwriter Jane McCulloch – writer, director, life-enhancer – organised the perfect send-off for this very special lady. She was such fun. Full of energy, intelligence & thoughtful positivity.
I popped up on @BBCBreakfast just now to talk about happiness & politics. One of the 7 Secrets of Happiness is to cultivate a passion. Margaret Thatcher’s passion was politics & when her time as prime ended she didn’t have another passion to fall back on …
Elizabeth II was driven by duty & sustained by faith – but it was her passion for her dogs & horses that made her happy. Cultivating a passion is one of the 7 secrets of happiness … I learnt them from the great Dr Anthony Clare & I’ve put then in a book – @Octopus_Books
My cinnamon bun has arrived! Thank you, Fleur @thismorning
Breakfast is served. I’m in Broadstairs. Is this the kind of thing Dickens would have enjoyed when he stayed at the hotel where I’m staying now?
Oh no! We’re on @C4Gogglebox!
It’s Friday and that means #gyla were back together. @gylesbrandreth was sporting his buddy jumper supporting @dogsforautism and I was twirling in @collectifclothing on @thismorning make up by @gemmafieldmakeup
At the end of the day … At the end of an era … I was lucky enough to be there for last @forthemanypod live in Broadstairs, as @IainDale bade farewell to his podpanion @Jacqui_Smith1 as she sets off on her new ministerial career.
This is Sarah from al_fresco_feasts who makes the most amazing banoffee pie … but is it perfect? What do you think?
Greetings from Broadstairs! Look at these beautiful clouds … wish you were here?
I’ve been in Darlington for an hour or two. I was on my way to Edinburgh, but a tragedy on the line north of Darlington means we’re now going back to York where the plan is to go north again via the Durham coast … Fingers crossed I get to @ToppingsEdin by nightfall …
Tonight at 9.00 pm at @C4Gogglebox
A completely wonderful morning on the St Peter’s Village tour … celebrating the tour’s 30th birthday with some of the cast of the tour which is a cultural treat – the best way to bring local history life! If ever you’re in Broadstairs this is a 5 star must!
Edinburgh Castle today for the 21 gun salute to mark Queen Camilla’s birthday…
Lifting your spirits on a Friday morning …
Berwick … with luck & a helpful wind we will get to Edinburgh around 6.30 pm (four & a quarter hours later than planned) & we can collect Susie & Andy & Kirsty & Jane from the hotel where they’ve been waiting & get to my talk at 7.30. The talk is about HAPPINESS! Ha!
Great start to the day talking about the idea of happiness & The 7 Secrets of Happiness as part of the @uochester Festival of Ideas. (Proudly sporting my Chester Uni Chancellor’s jumper!)
📚Mini Book Review 📚 Quit Lit / The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray Bit of a different one this week but I think it counts. The term quit lit was first coined in 2015 and it’s really taken off as a genre in the last ten years especially now all the young folks seem to be off the booze and into their ‘boundaries’. I first tip-toed into the genre with The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, which was an unexpected joy to read – it was engaging, moving and full real insight and pratical advice. It came out in 2017 so was quite an early example of the genre and has been one of it’s biggest success, especially here in the UK, at last count it had sold over 200,000 copies. What I enjoy about quit lit is it tends to be a blend of memoir and self-help. You get the slightly voyeuristic thrill of being given access into someone’s darkest moments but you also get the redemptive narrative arc which always ends up being one of hope (and one of the protagonist writing the book you now have in your sober little paws) Plus useful tips on how to live a healthier life and the philosophical/psychological whys and wherefores of questioning our individual and societal relationship with the grog. Since reading TUJOBS I’ve also read: 📚How to quite like a Woman by Holly Whitaker – very American, lots of spiritual, Gabi Bernstein, Course in Miracles stuff, not one to read if you are into the patriarchy – or if you are not into constant references to the patriarchy 📚The Sober Diaries By Clare Pooley – posh mummy wine o’clock vibes with a cancer plot twist. Other’s I’ve not read but that are on my list: 📚Blackout: Remembering the things I drank to forget by Sarah Hepola 📚This Naked Mind by Annie Grace 📚Nothing Good Can Come from This by Kristi Coulter 📚Sober Curious by Ruby Warrington. Do let me know if you’ve read them, what your thoughts were and if there any others you think I should have on my radar. Cx PS don’t know if it really counts but one of the best books I’ve ever read about alcohol was 📚Pour Me: A life by A.A. Gill. A really beautiful brilliant memoir.
Some people are listening to Keir Starmer on @therosebudpodcast this morning … our new episode features another interesting & sometimes controversial figure: Kathleen Stock. #Rosebud
Always nice to start the week as No 1. (If you’ve not yet listened to my @therosebudpod give it a go: it’s a podcast where I talk to interesting people about their first memories – from Dame Judi Dench to Sir Keir Starmer.)
