New Terms and Temple Bods...

We really have, Joe.
No more cake for breakfast. 

You can take the girl out of teaching but you can't take the teaching out of the girl. Or something. OFSTED nightmares aside, I rarely think about my previous life. Except for one thing. My body clock remains automatically attuned to term times. We've just had Easter. Like September and January, there feels a natural renewal to this week. And you know what? It can't come soon enough. What with birthday shenanigans and the weekend eggs, there's been lots of chocolate and cake knocking about. I feel sluggish. I feel like it's the 29th December, I've got a fridge of cheese and zero inclination to chop a vegetable. 

That stops now. From today, I'm treating my body like a temple. (Cue the Victoria Wood line - 'I say temple, I could just as easily have said garden centre... they're very popular of a Sunday, aren't they?') When I say temple, I mean I'm going to cook gorgeous lovely tasty food that's not chocolate or cake based. I'm also going to start doing my weights again. A year ago I was jiggling about three times a week with 5kg dumbbells. It's been a few months since I paused (because of a pulled muscle) and I never went back. I imagine I'll be back to basics with 3kgers but who cares? It's a new term and a new start. Exciting times ahead.

Writing News

As you know, the new book is available from 23.5.24 (pre-order your copy today!) As part of its marketing, I've got an online book tour starting after the release date. That's where bloggers and reviewers post their thoughts on social media. But there's more! Because this is Book Two of a series, I've also got a mini book tour starting before that, for Book One. That's pretty exciting. Unless you're mega famous, the hubbub of a new book dies down pretty quickly. It's all about the build-up. Pre-orders are key and any fuss tends to peak around the week of publication. That's why having a bit of attention directed at a book that came out in 2019 is marvellous. Any new reviews will help the algorithm gods do their thing and draw a bit of attention my way. That can only be a good thing.

James Acaster. I'll
watch anything he's in.

Culture

I recently got to see the touring production of My Beautiful Laundrette. It was funny, powerful, and - despite being written in the 80s - depressingly prescient for a modern day audience. What was lovely is that the actor who played Omar in the 1985 film, was the guy playing Omar's dad in the play. How we've all grown up! In film news, despite my misgivings, I found myself booking a ticket for the new Ghostbusters movie. I wasn't arsed about the last one, and I'm still cross with how the online broflakes moaned about the 2016 version and got the intended sequel canned. But then I heard that James Acaster was in the new film. That got me booking a ticket lickety split. He's one of my favourite comedians and I can confirm his presence makes what would be an OK film, better than OK. Finally, I got Armistead Maupin's new book, Mona of the Manor. He's been one of my favourite authors since I found him in the nineties. The fact he's picked up his Tales of the City series once again, is thrilling. So far, I'm looking at the cover and stroking it a lot. I'm too busy to curl up for the day. Once I start it, I'm all in. For now, staring longingly as it sits on my coffee table will have to suffice.

Mmmmm

Food and Drink

Talking of gorgeous, lovely, tasty food, here's something that ticks all those boxes. And it's healthy too. This recipe for hot and sour soup has been my go to for years. It's full of punchy flavours and all the good things. It's also easily adaptable. In my meat-eating days, I'd fill it with chicken. Now I stick to mini shrimp and tofu. Of course, when I made this over the weekend, I ate it with a packet of prawn crackers. There's no rush to clean living. It's a process.

Out and About

There's not much space for fun times right now. I say that, but I've seen all my nieces and nephs recently - school holidays will do that - and I've got catch-ups booked in with some old teacher friends. In a bid to be out of the house on Saturday night, I BBQed some salmon and sat outside for as long as I could stand. I can't lie, the chilly temperatures and forced fun vibes gave me triggering flashbacks to lockdown. No matter, I was out and about! And that's what this section is all about.

Happy April, gang! Because I'm a grown woman who abhors pranks, there's no mention of April Fools Day here. There're no spaghetti trees or fake news items to kid you for April 1st fun. Or ARE there?*

Have a lovely week, folks.

*There really aren't. Pranks are silly. Grow up.