WHEN I FIRST began putting together this instalment of Life Lately, had actually disabled the entire TIG Instgram account (as in, removed it from the internet) and deleted the app from my phone—hence the title. Also took time off from Twitter at same time and reclaimed all of the EXTRA hours left from those two alone to catch up on reading (currently reading this book). Recently, in our triweekly articles series, we had included two very interesting articles on this very topic: The Case for Deleting Everything and America Offline, both of which had confirmed my restless feelings and urge to be extremely and wildly social media-free.
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P'S BIKE IS in a storage unit in Spain, and has been for the past two and half years, so during the lockdown that was 202o, I sold my Buckingham Black Pashley Princess Sovereign to a woman in London. We had been hoping to buy two folding bikes in their place, but did not anticipate all the folding bicycles in England to be completely sold out for an entire year...
AFTER WHAT meteorologists have been calling the wettest May in 160 years, the rain finally stopped, perfectly in time for the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. We spent as much time outside as we possible could, both of us getting blinded by the sun, which we hadn't seen in months, both of getting a little sunburned, so unaccustomed was our skin, despite being coated in SPF30 ...
THIS WEEKEND we watched the 2005 film The Squid and the Whale. Directed by Noah Baumbach and produced by Wes Anderson, it follows two brothers dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s. We both really liked it and ended discussing it for a quite awhile afterwards. We watched another Noah Baumbach film awhile ago, A Marriage Story, and I am beginning to realise that I really like his wistful, slow, snippet-in-the-life storytelling style.
TODAY RESTAURANTS and pubs will be opening for indoor seating for the first time since the last lockdown. Until now, it has been only outdoor seating, and the weather has definitely not been cooperating. Our favourite sandwich shop in town, where we would order for pickup, has become a casualty of the pandemic and in its place, a new chocolate shop will open...
WE SPENT THE past few days back in London, visiting old haunts and discovering new places, eating so much good food and walking and bicycling to new neighbourhoods all covered in wisteria and cherry blossoms; entering gilded and ornate wrought iron gates to parks filled with swans and happy ducks, sipping drinks on terraces and having dim sum for Saturday brunch ...
RANDOMLY CAME across a Pinterest board last week entitled "Beautiful Women". The man whose board it was had been diligently collecting busty blondes and me. It was a mildly amusing, slightly strange discovery to say the least. It's the early May bank holiday weekend here, and while we're being more lounge-y than normal for a Monday, we're back at work for at least part of the day ...
THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS are out, creating fluffy pink poufs in the skyline, against old stone cottages and cloudy spring skies and making everything bright and hopeful. Tiny fallen pink petals line the walkways and flutter lightly on breezes and while it's become a little chilly again, very warm weather is expected for May, so perhaps spring may be taking its time but is definitely on the way.
ON MONDAY WE went into the city for the first time in a long time, stopped for oat milk flat whites at our favourite coffee shop (so nice!), browsed flower stands and shopped for champagne truffles. We had take-away sushi for lunch and ended up on a sun-drenched terrace overlooking the river where we sipped drinks in the spring air ...
YESTERDAY WE HAD drinks on the terrace of one of the local pubs for the first time in six months. It's been a bit chilly lately, but yesterday it was sunny with clear blue skies and it felt, to be honest, a bit strange to be doing something so normal, but also really nice ...
THE COLD HAS suddenly returned and it's not easy going back to brisk temperatures after having so many bright and warm spring days. The daffodils are fading and it's still technically the long weekend, but we've decided to spend some time back at work after a rather eventful few day of too much of everything.
LAST WEEK on our Instagram Stories we asked about your greatest regrets and the answers ranged from hilarious (IDK yet, I'm only 16) to the heartfelt and heartbreaking. Some answers were lighthearted and revealed regret for over-plucked brows in the 90s and selling a ticket to the Spice Girls reunion concert in Vegas because of finals. Others regretted not finishing university or completing a Masters degree or making bad career decisions and feeling stuck ...
P AND I WERE talking this week about how I may be absorbing the weight of the unrelenting news cycles, the political turmoil, all the constant bad news. I am naturally empathic and find it difficult sometimes not to internalise all of the problems going on in the world.
HAVEN'T BEEN able to stop thinking about Sarah Everard since her disappearance the night of March 3rd. We have been consumed with the news for nearly two weeks now. There have been so many thoughts, so many feelings, a lot of sadness, and a lot of anger. I've been slowly trying to put things together into something (hopefully) coherent, but for now, perhaps it's best to take some time to reflect.
I SOMETIMES MISS the magnolia blossoms in London and think of them a lot. Things are slowly getting ready to open again here and perhaps, if all goes well, we'll be able to visit them again, along with the wisteria in Notting Hill. This week we're deep in things from the past, for the vintage Sony stereo that P won on an online auction through reckless bidding finally arrived today ...