Dear Diary
Okay, my lovelies. Time for an update and confession time. First the latter. I have never written a diary. Odd, I know. I suspect that most teenagers in my generation did write diaries. I wanted to be a maverick. I needed to be different from the hoi polloi. Made me feel special somehow. Besides, I had the most wonderful family – ever. They trusted me, gave me an extraordinary amount of freedom. A favourite aunt to whom I could confide, safe in the knowledge that it would go no further. What more could a teenager ask for?
And yet, when the publisher asked me to write this blog, muttering some nonsense about marketing advice, I decided … hmm, why not? Are there things that I want to share, bursting to impart knowledge, wisdom or facts that may be of interest to my fans and general reading public?
That last bit stopped me, literally, in my tracks. What on earth will you darlings want to know about me?
Here are some examples: how I enjoy my walks with my white Pomeranian Tyger along the lovely Thames riverside, which, by the way, my lovelies is absolutely spectacular this time of the year? Or that I signed up for a music streaming service, listening to my favs from the eighties? This, despite protests from my otherwise adorable and wholly pecked spouse. Oh, and by the way, dear diary, I still have a rather odd taste in music, ranging from expected girl bands – Bangles from then, and more recently The Spice Girls. To crooners like Michael Bublé but Frank, Tony, Nat and Barry from back in the day. I love Cher, Madonna, Celine Dion, Phil Collins, George Michael and Billy Joel to name a few. I went on a musical retrospective, crying to Phil Collins’ Another Day in Paradise. I even listened to ABBA and Boney M. Okay, I didn’t enjoy them as much as I did the others, but hey-ho.
Had no health problems, thank goodness, but I’m always looking for ways to burn calories. Oh, the struggle. I learned and tried a few new recipes, this one an odd Italian pasta with cayenne pepper. Yum. I like experimenting, but fair disclosure, they don’t always turn out all that well. I drink a variety of smoothies – anyone want any tips or combos, just ask. I’ll tell you my favs. Trick that I like to use is celery as a constant base, with cranberry juice as the fluid. Then, I mix and match fruits and veggies. Fruits include apples, oranges, strawberries, grapefruit, watermelon and pomegranate. I avoid bananas, willing to try other types of berries and the like. When really lazy, I might even get the frozen berry cocktail from the supermarket. Veggies include carrots, beet and spinach. Oh, I like to add ginger for spice. Not too much, just a few shavings.
Hmm. What did I watch? I like international films on a popular streaming service including Spanish, Korean, Argentinian and Norwegian. De Nærmeste (Homesick) was extremely well made a bit confusing. I don’t mind being accused of being dumb but I had to search the internet for an explanation to the ambiguous ending. I watched aforementioned Michael’s wife in a few Argentinian movies – not particularly my speed but I was curious about her. Perdida was interesting. Good actress. Must remember to download her songs.
My favourite however was The Occupant for the sheer brilliant acting of the protagonist Javier Gutiérrez. Must watch. A bit of a slow-burner but enthralling. My latest guilty pleasure is watching Graham Norton clips on Facebook. Interesting about how and why it went down. Don’t believe what you read.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my musings. Please let me know what you think.
Stay safe.
Love
Kyra Radcliff