Aunt Bants...

I can only assume this is 
what my baby neph is
thinking whilst he sets about
learning the ways of the world. 

Unto us a nephew is born! Yes, an excellent thing happened in my family. I'm an aunt for the fifth time! Even though I'm happily free of my own spawn, I do enjoy the role of Aunt. Of course, if any of my nieces or nephews ever called me Aunt or Auntie, I'd laugh in their face. It's just Nicky, you see. Why put up unnecessary barriers? In reality, it's probably not that simple. There'll be generational barriers regardlesss. Even with my bestest efforts, the fact I'm almost forty-six years older than my newest neph means he'll only ever view me as old. I doubt he'll ever truly see me as one of his mates, which is a shame because I'd be excellent at that. The kid doesn't know what he's missing! Hey ho. I'll still work hard at being down with the new born kids just incase we smash through the generational divide and go on a road trip. (Or something.)

Writing News

Well now. So much writing news I can hardly breathe. First of all, the online promotion of Leeza McAuliffe Has Loads More To Say continues apace. If you follow me on social media, you'll have seen an increase in my posts recently. As I said last week, sorry about that. But there's more. Because of the Cheltenham horse racing shenanigans, I've just had the best part of a week, home alone. And when I'm alone - like, truly alone, where my own internal timetable can freely fly - my creative juices start bubbling. They bubbled so much that I sat in Costa and spewed out eight sides of ideas for my next book. I've bought a pin board, I've plotted out a storyline on notecards, and I've even arranged them in a coherent manner. It's a bit of a relief to be honest. I'd not really known what I was going to write next, and as time ticked away, I worried I'd never think of something. Now, even though it's rough and ready, I've got a starting point.

Three of the Pod Save America hosts.
They're single-handedly keeping me
informed and mostly calm in
this US election year.

Culture

I've got a book, a TV show, and a film for you this week. First off, I heard the authors of The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents With Commentary talk on Pod Save America. By the time Jon Lovett had finished interviewing Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann, I'd ordered their book. (I was proper frigged by the US postage!) Ngl, it's a nerdy read. The legal docs are there in full for lawyerly types to decipher. But the commentary? That's pure layperson. I'm dipping in, a bit at the time - I'm not a masochist - but it's really satisfying to digest.

Ok, moving on from terrible people, my TV rec is Things You Should Have Done. With all six episodes on the iPlayer, it's a flight of fancy, laugh out loud take on a twenty-something woman having to adult for the first time. The premise sounds sad (double parental death in a car crash) but it couldn't be less so. At least not in the way you assume it'll be. I binged the series in one go, and loved it. 

American Fiction - deliciously
skewering the world of
worthy white publishing.

Finally, here's my film of the week. Possibly still showing in some cinemas, and now on Prime, American Fiction was one of the Best Picture nominations at the Oscars. It didn't win but walked away with Best Adapted Screenplay. (The writing awards are always my favourite.) Jeffrey Wright plays a stuffy highbrow writer, who abhors the stereotypes of Black people in popular fiction. But after a whole series of events, he finds himself selling out and relying on offensive trope after offensive trope in his new book. It makes sense when you watch it. Not only funny, it's moving and poignant as it gently depicts a myriad of Black experiences that counterbalance the stereotypes it lampoons. I watched it with three other people on Thursday afternoon, and felt buoyed up as a result. (And the soundtrack is stunning.)

Tofu bacon, omelette, and 
tomato ketchup on a wrap

Food and Drink

I've got a cracker for you. Well, it's a cracker if you choose not to eat bacon but still wish you could eat bacon and don't want to eat processed facon from supermarkets. A niche group of us? Perhaps. But veggie or not, this is lovely. It's a recipe for tofu-bacon, that when paired with the right things, tastes just as good/almost the same as the real thing. Here's the recipe in full but if you've got a block of smoked tofu, some soy, maple syrup, olive oil, sriracha, and cornflour, you're good to go. I had it with an omelette and tomato ketchup in a wrap and it was delish! 

Out and About

I hereby declare my birthday season open! Yep, we've made it. Next time I post this blog, I'll have reached the big 4-6. It doesn't really come with any new rights, responsibilities, or perks. I've currently got sciatica in my left arse cheek, and I'm once again toying with letting my hair dye grow out, but apart from that, it's the same old same old. No matter, I'm alive! In order to celebrate another year on the planet, I went for drinks at the Sky Bar in Liverpool. The group of friends I was with included two other birthday celebrators, and as a result, we got spoilt rotten. Free drinks, a round of shots, and an extra pudding! Woohoo! Were they fishing for reviews? Of course. Did we care? Naaahhh. A fab day was had by all and I posted my 5* review the following day.

The week ahead is always a happy time for me. Just knowing my birthday comes at the end, gives me a spring in my step. (Sciatica permitting.) As is tradition, I'll be rewatching a ten-second video I've got where my Grandma tells me to have a happy birthday next week, and I'll be rewatching the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest. (It's the best!)  So many plans, so little time. On top of that, I've got to bond with the new baby neph. He's probably never going to want to be BFFs with me but I might just convince him I'm excellent fun. Wish me luck!

Have a lovely week, folks.