Goodbye April, thanks for the sunshine
Sophie Lombardi
April has been a month of sunshine, millionaires in space, Trumpy tariffs, the death of one of my favourite pontifs (did JD finish him off?) and a regrettable amount of chocolate. We are deep in A Level revision land and I am on permanent snack/ cheer squad duty. When I haven’t been making protein smoothies and experiencing a suspicious fruity waft from the study room, these are some of the things that I have enjoyed.
Cinema - Mr Burton
This film was unexpectedly brilliant. I anticipated a typical British drama ; the chinking of tea cups and good natured characters pottering around a Welsh mining village. However we enjoyed stellar performances from Toby Jones and Harry Lawley and the wonderful transformation of Richard Burton from valley scally to formidable star of the Royal Shakespeare Company. I loved the seamless switching between Welsh and English and could fully appreciate the conflict between troubled Burton’s two very different worlds.
Eating - The Arnold Bennett Omlette
I declare The Arnold Bennett Omlette the breakfast of dreams. Famously created by The Savoy for author Arnold Bennett in 1921, the classic omlette is made with smoked haddock, lightly cooked eggs, and a bechamel flavoured with mustard and worcestershire. The silky smooth cheesy layers are heavenly and whist it is a fiddle to make you won’t regret all that whisking. Try this recipe for the promised land of breakfasts and serve with a crisp green salad.
Reading - ‘Dream Count’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I don’t feel qualified to summarize this astute and multi layered novel. ‘Dream Count’ is composed of the interlocking stories of four women, Chiamaka (“Chia”), Zikora, Omelogor and Kadiatou. All of these women are African immigrants living in the USA. Set against the backdrop of the Covid Pandemic, the book looks at their relationships and the conflict between cultural expectations vs dreams and living in the modern Western world,
Streaming - Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kid-fluencing - Netflix
I was disturbed but not surprised by Netflix’s new docu-series ‘Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing’ which takes a look at the murky story of child - influencer Piper Rockelle and her momager Tiffany Smith. Eight year old Piper experiences huge success creating content for You Tube and soon her Mother has enlisted several other fellow child influencers to collaborate on videos. Four years later, the kids sue Smith for $22 million, alleging they suffered “emotional, verbal, physical, and at times, sexual abuse”. It becomes clearly apparent that there is still no clear legislation that supports child content creators and the protection of these kids is entirely down to the integrity of the parent or guardian. More on my Substack here.
What are you looking forward to in May? Although June is my favourite month, I find May so invigorating : a month of bumble bees, sea swimming and sitting outside at last.
Please let me know your recommendations
Sophie xxx
