the june review

i was wrong about iceman & big ideas to fix the uk

Hello loves,

I am really loving vlogging at the moment — two videos went out in May and I’m going to try and share even more over summer. I think I need to get better at titling them as they’re currently a bit dreary-sounding, which isn’t actually the mood of the content at all. I feel very hopeful at the moment! I’ve been doing some really amazing things like my first ice bath and sauna experience and seeing Sienna Spiro at Roundhouse. Summer is shaping up to be pretty special 🌺

We spent the morning taking Lily, Jack’s mum’s dog, to the vet — they pulled an enormous seed out of her ear and now she’s feeling much better. Lily is my favourite house guest, I love all of the dogs we look after but I have a special place in my heart for how friendly she is to everyone she meets, her little grunts when she’s excited and how she still feels like a baby even though she’s six.

Taking care of our friends’ dogs has been an unexpected joy of my adulthood, the trade offs seem much larger when you’re initially asked but I’ve always had a wonderful time once they’re here. We also took care of Bam earlier this month, a Cypriot rescue who is incredibly strange (and suspicious of men, a man after my own heart,) but such an endearing guy once you get to know him. I’m realising there’s a special unlock when you earn the trust of a rescue dog.

Once we have a garden I’m sure we’ll get one too — short stays only for now.

Lily (left), Bam (right)

Popped another demo out this month — it’s called camera shy! I’m still working on it, got some positive feedback when I shared a clip in the vlog including from previous collaborators so it seems like a sign to try and get it done! 🫧

camera shy

I went down to Brighton to see Lan and meet her kitten, Juno. Such a beautiful afternoon — although I got swarmed by seagulls and lost an ice cream in the process which was perhaps the funniest tragic thing I’ve ever experienced. One touched my head; there were beak marks through the whip and strawberry sauce. It was violating. I bought some mini doughnuts to ease the pain.

When I was a teenager, I always thought I would move to Brighton when I got big and old and settled down — I think Anna Newton’s vlogs were a strong influence. I still love the city, I spent a lot of time there growing up and both my dad and sister studied there, so I’m glad I’ve got another excuse to go, even if I have to occasionally defend myself from the audacious avian locals.

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wearing —

Wore my favourite outfit in ages to dinner with Georgia Meramo and hannah louise — a sheer halter from Belle Anna with my new Mango x Eckhaus Latta trousers. Absolutely love that collection, I wish I’d moved faster and picked up something else. The outfit feels incredibly me, and judging from the reaction on IG it was a reminder that I need to build outfits like this more often. I’ve linked everything on ShopMy (the one-stop shop for all my clothes, skincare and makeup) but the necklace is from a market in Mexico City.

I have lived in these adidas sprinter shorts through the heatwave — genuinely think I wore them five days in a row.

listening —

I’ve changed my mind about Iceman. When I initially listened, I didn’t like it. Maybe I was overwhelmed by the three album drop; all the beat switches got on my nerves, it felt chaotic and like no idea was finished whilst also being repetitive. But on a whim, I went back to it last week and heard so much more in it — lyrically I think it’s Drake’s strongest work in ages, and I found the beats way more diverse and conclusive. I need to give it a few more listens, but that second listen definitely has me humbled.

As usual, I updated my Honey playlist with loads of fresh music 🫧

visiting —

Frida at the Tate with Rosianna, and my favourite photogram on display by Rosa Rolanda.

The Tate has two great exhibitions on at the moment — Julio Le Parc and Frida: The Making Of An Icon. I feel blessed to have seen Frida’s work a second time this year, there was much more of it in this exhibition than in the Frida Museum in CDMX. They also placed it next to her contemporaries and those who have been influenced, which led me to discover Rosa Rolanda — her work is stunning, I hope I get to see more.

Julio Le Parc’s exhibition is peaceful, playful, asking the viewer to question the relationship of the artist to the work — it really spoke to me. I love installations, especially abstract ones that play with light and sound. I spoke about it more in my vlog last week, definitely give it a watch if you want to know more.

Julio Le Parc at The Tate.

watching —

I have a new brain crush: he’s called Henry Fudge and I’m obsessed with his big policy ideas. Yes, you read that right. I don’t talk about it so much on here but I’m really interested in big ideas to fix the UK — it’s been 15 years and so far nothing within the current system, either left or right leaning, has worked, so what can we do next? Coming across an economist who is inventing policies for fun on Tiktok wasn’t on my bingo card but it’s definitely the hope I was looking for. I love his idea of a British Industrial Investment Bank and Land Value Tax replacing our dated Council Tax. His diagnosis for why the UK can’t recover is in this video, I suggest you start here.

eating —

Super random one, but I celebrated completing my final assessment for my singing and performance course by buying some treats. I picked up this M&S chicken tikka dip to try which was so good, along with the Magnum cherry chocolate bonbons (literal heaven), more chocolate cherries because I’m feral for them and the pretzel fudge mini bites that I usually have to swerve as I could eat them all in one sitting. The jalapeño cream cheese was the only mid pick here, honestly I’d just buy a normal one in future and add jarred jalapeños to whatever I’m eating. Everything else was fire.

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