“When you are in the water you can think differently, because you feel the whole of the world in a way that you don’t when you’re outside. We’re held differently by the world and therefore we think differently.” I loved everything about this article.

Pestle and mortars.

Academic guilt.

I loved this portrait of Philip Pullman, about his upcoming Book of Dust.

This week I devoured Heartburn, by Nora Ephron. I really loved it because it is clearly the source of one of my favourite quotes (which I heard first in Julie and Julia). “What I love about cooking is that after a hard day, there is something comforting about the fact that if you melt butter and add flour and then hot stock, it will get thick! It’s a sure thing! It’s sure thing in a world where nothing is sure; it has a mathematical certainty in a world where those of us who long for some kind of certainty are forced to settle for crossword puzzles.” In Julie and Julia, she talks about whisking egg yolks into chocolate, and sugar and milk, while making pie, but really it amounts to the same thing. It is all about the comfort of routine in cooking.

I listened to I found my tribe. I urge you to read this book (or listen to it, as I did. It is read by the author). It tells the story of Ruth, who has a tribe of 5 children and a husband with Motor Neurone Disease. Her story of coping with her husband’s illness while raising her children is captivating, heartbreaking, and arresting. There is some wild sea swimming in cold Irish water for good measure too. This book will make you grateful for what you have.

For most of Sunday I listened to The Girls. I have been drawn into this novel, wanting to know how things will end (although you have a good idea from the beginning as it is based on the Manson murders ). But it is the dynamics between the girls, the way teenaged is represented, that is so fascinating.

I’m not even sure we should really know how to make this ourselves but oh well: how to make your own cookie butter.

Food critics at London’s newspapers.

I love the look of this cocktail, especially for Halloween.

That is all for this week! Have a good one y’ll. x