Another curious little year, eh?! Much less social distancing and masking, v v good, quite a bit more economic downturn plus the potential collapse of our NHS, v v bad. War - atrocious. Three Prime Ministers yet no General Election, plus a new unelected head of state, so not exactly a glorious year for democracy either. However, quite a decent little breakthrough on cancer treatment, Brazil has turned its back on right-wing populism, and, dare I say, test cricket is back!
Below is a round-up of a few of my favourite things from 2022 (helpfully delivered three days in to the new year - because I’m an iconoclast!)
I ate some really nice veg this year, which isn’t surprising as I also stopped eating meat. It’s a very long story that involves a pals trip to Llangranog, a field with a calf and its mother and her mates in, and then finally this FT piece on pigs which made me re-assess pretty much everything. I sent a message to my best pal (vegetarian of 30 years) to ask how she manages to get enough protein into her lunch, and I haven’t eaten meat since. (I still eat fish, but love this sentiment of Benjamin Zephaniah’s) Turns out you get to 36 and realise that you’re not actually that fussy, you do like most veg, you just don’t like it steamed to soggy mulch. Seasoned, herbed, veg cooked in a slither of fat has brought me unending joy this year (green beans flash fried in butter and garlic, cauli roasted in oil with the barest sprinkling of sumac and salt) and next year I plan on getting quite heavily into legumes, specifically lentils. Nigella, on the pleasure of food and eschewing the term “guilty pleasure,” is the energy I want to take in to 2023 regarding nourishment.
My foray into dahlia growing yielded mixed results, with my café au lait putting on a huge show in November, long after I’d given up hope of their arrival. I’m going to have another go this year, along with tulips, ranunuclus plus a borderline unhinged bulb lasagne of whatever we had left hanging around that hadn’t been potted. I also want to learn the basics around compost and soil biodiversity, so any tips for where to start as someone at the ultimate beginner level are gratefully received! Monty Don’s new puppy, Ned, has been responsible for about 87% of the serotonin kicking about my body over the last few weeks. I could watch him all day, so I keep forgetting to pay any attention when he posts anything mildly educational.
My reading was way more paired back this year with a handful of stand outs - there’s not much more I can add to the discourse surrounding Lessons in Chemistry or Sorrow and Bliss other than that they are both worth the hype, both feature brilliant, non conformist women and are both worth your time. Inciting Joy by Ross Gay is beautiful and timely, and the essay on the local community garden as a gateway to mutual aid is one of the most joyous, hopeful things I’ve read all year. Spice, A Cook’s Companion by
was my stand-out cook book of the year (his previous book, Herb, made my round up last year too!) Niter Kibbeh, an Ethiopian clarified butter, has been one my favourite things to have in the kitchen, for slathering over a sesame bagel or for sautéing potatoes. I adore Mark’s writing (both his cook books and his newsletter, ) as he has such a relaxed yet evocative voice. Small Things Like These is the most quietly devastating book that does so much with so few words. A gut punch to end the year, but one I can see myself going back to time and time again. by Anne Helen Peterson is the one newsletter I cannot wait to open, for such interesting, thoughtful pieces and with a great subscriber community (hello, ask a divorced person!) I really enjoyed this piece on how to turn up for friends with and without children. I wish there was a U.K based equivalent to Culture Study, and the closest I can find is . Emma provides such a clear window into a creative life, both the highs and the lows, and the community she’s built on Substack is lovely. She’s also the reason I’ll be spending January carrying out The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. We know I love a bit of Rightmove - but due to recent factors (economic collapse of the country! slowly becoming a failed state!) it’s morphed from a genuine browse to more of a luxury taunt - but I cannot get enough of the Rightmove round up on . The gnome room has unmoored my already fragile brain - but an immediate balm comes in the form of the most serene house in Bristol, which I’ve spent quite a long time imagining as the setting to my alternate life where I tinker and pad and eventually start a fellowship / borderline cult dedicated to pottery.I watch very little TV so when I do it has to be addictive, compulsive and riotously fast paced - The Bear ticks all of those boxes and then some. Sometimes tender, sometimes funny, extremely horny with absolutely zero sex, I felt like I’d ran a marathon after the first episode. Episode seven, which is shot in a single take charting a frantic day where everything goes wrong in the kitchen, is art. The playlist is also superb, with Last Train home being the current theme tune to my life.
The second series of Only Murders in the Building was well worth the wait, with some gorgeous one liners from Short and Martin and more twists than a pretzel. The set up for series three looks extra ridiculous, but I hope next series big names bring more to it than this one, as I found both Delevingne and Schumer quite lacking.
Big Boys was my ultimate favourite watch this year, I can’t remember anything that’s made me snort from crying and laughing in the same twenty minutes. I’ve also started re-watching Frasier from the beginning, and I marvel at how there’s absolutely no fat on it whatsoever! Every line is either a joke or the set up to a joke. I’m considering starting Seinfeld this year, roughly thirty years late.
Glass Onion was utterly perfect Christmas Eve viewing, I had no idea what was going on for the majority of the film but was just happy to be along for the ride. Blanc’s fussy little outfits were splendid, and the partner reveal! I YELLED! No spoilers, of course, but I really hope they have a much bigger part in the third film, ideally set in the French Riviera with even more huge name actors with tiny inconsequential parts.
The Wagatha Christie trial gave me everything I adore - petty snipes, low stakes / high camp commotion, an audacious waste of everyone’s time, where the only winners were the lawyers. A mobile phone falling into the North Sea?! Peter Andre’s miniature chipolata dick?! Honestly! And yet. There was something a little bit icky in the back of my mind, as the tabloids had a field day over the whole murky carry-on, which Instagram’s funniest man, Raven Smith, nails in his Vogue column - we just cannot bare to see working-class women on the up. Like watching the papers rinse women having a good time at Aintree in their best dresses, apparently there’s nothing more warranting our disdain than women who forget, for even just one day, where they come from. Neither Vardy or Rooney need my sympathy, however, so I will more than likely allow myself the grubby luxury of watching the Channel 4 court room drama in my new year break and shriek with mirth.
I can’t bear not knowing the ins and outs of things that fascinate me, and nothing intrigues me more than our intelligence services. This little window into the lives of top women spies scratched the itch, albeit fleetingly. Am I currently writing a screenplay based on a gay old theatre uncle who provided disguises for spies during the war?! I couldn’t possibly say…
Fat Bear week came around once again, but this year, with scandal!!
As mentioned above, I want to really get into my lentils and grains this year, so I’ve been brushing up on my Middle Eastern dishes, starting this delightful tabbouleh as a side for salmon, and these bloody lush Persian eggs make for a satisfying breakfast when you have a little more time.
And that sums up 2022 fairly succinctly! I hope to be with you with more regularity this year, but who knows what little distractions / giant curveballs are around the corner, so I won’t make any promises. Things are bleak enough at this time of year without the impending collapse of our health care system / spiralling energy costs / lack of firm date for the release of series three of Only Murders in the Building, so please spend the next month adding things in to make yourselves happier, rather than taking away. Those things might be more vegetables, more water, more movement, more rest, but now is not the time for denial. I intend on spending the next month morphing into the fella below whilst mildly harassing my family into playing Jaipur with me. Any book / article / veg recipe / basic soil education recommendations - please comment below! If you think others may enjoy these posts, please feel free to share as I’d love to reach more people over the next few months. Thanks for reading over the last year, here’s to even more delight in 2023, N xo
Ahh this is lovely. I have something worse than a gnome room coming up on the Rightmove round-up: killer teddy bears.