JOY PARADE No.5
The Joy of Jaunting! Patriotic Mice! Pastel Coloured Cats!
HELLO!
Where has this week gone? I always find myself unmoored after a bank hol. I have spent every day this week twenty four hours behind and nearly missed appointments because of it.
As I said at the end of Joy Parade No.4, last weekend I was in a social whirl.
I was here!
I was there!
I was coughing like Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge (from hay fever not consumption) in the middle of Soho!
I was eating dainty finger sandwiches in a marquee in a park!
LOTS going on.
What happened was this:
On Saturday I got the train into Lon. to meet my pal, M, for a weekend of Jaunting. We love Jaunting. Jaunting involves us talking none stop, walking around in circles because I’ve been put in charge of finding places and I shouldn’t have been, eating, and going to the theatre. LOVELY! I recommend.
Here we are walking and gossiping. We don’t really look like this but it’s how I drew us in my sketchbook.
M and I have been pals since we were teenagers and went to school together. He has chocolate brown ringlet curls (like Shirley Temple), enjoys Sci Fi and fantasy books and never feels the cold. I like books about wartime women in cardigans and I constantly feel like I am on the brink of hypothermia. We both love hash browns so our friendship works beautifully.
We ambled through Chinatown and into Soho. It was at this point I was hay-fevered up to the eyebrows so we ducked into the Photographer’s Gallery for a Sustaining Snack (Banana Bread for M, cherry and mysteriously unannounced variety of nut butter cookie for me), and I had a chance to stop my eyes streaming.
And then we went onto the theatre.
We saw The Comedy About Spies at the Nöel Coward. It was two hours of good fun and professional Arsing About of the highest calibre. Almost as entertaining as the performance was the woman at the end of our row who was absolutely bewildered and then SEETHING at the notion that people might want to gently ease by her to get to their seats before the show began and then again in the interval. She couldn’t get over the audacity of it and her tuts quivered the safety curtain.
I loved her.
After this, M and I had dinner where we ordered a lot of food, tried to decide if the people next to us were on a date/had never met before/ had been together yonks (they were INTRIGUING) and then I got lost on the way to the loo and almost ended up in the kitchen. I was only stopped by a waiter opening the door (tray in hand) and us both screaming at each other in surprise.
After that M and I went to our hotel, had a drink at the bar, said goodnight and went to bed. Naturally, I had fiddled with the air con in my room (as is my tradition) and then had no idea how to fix it (also my tradition), so the average temperature overnight was approximately -10°c. However, I am always prepped for this so I burrito’d myself in the duvet and popped on the bobble hat I have in my bag for such occasions.
The next day (after hash browns) we walked along the South Bank where I took this photo…
We watched a woman mudlarking then we went to the restaurant where we were meeting other pals for a 40th birthday lunch. Not my 40th birthday lunch. My 40th isn’t for a few months, so I remain PRACTICALLY a teen...
It was such a jolly time catching up with old friends, but too soon I had to dash for the train. I made it (just!) and instantly fell asleep for much of the journey which I’m blaming on the pizza I’d eaten, not on my age.
On Monday, in a turn of events that could only happen to me, I found myself at a VE Day themed party for a 97 year old that my acupuncturist had organised which was held in a park overlooked by an undertakers. It was actually very lovely.
Here is the cake I made for it - sponge with chocolate hazelnut filling, crackable dark chocolate icing, raspberries and flags borrowed from a brigade of extremely patriotic mice. It went down a storm!
So that was my weekend!
And now onto this week’s JOY PARADE!
Firstly, we must do some BEHOLDING! and EXCLAIMING!
Look at these Forget Me N’s and Welsh P’s! Aren’t they lovely together- something very delicate and pleasing about this combo.
I’m writing this on Saturday evening and I’m just back from walking the dogs. SUCH a heavenly evening especially at golden hour. So much to BEHOLD!
Not pictured in any of those photos are the sheep and her lamb I came across as we rounded a bend. We gazed at each other for a time and then they bounded off - their round, fluffy bottoms disappearing into a cloud of cow parsley. Magical!
I’m EXTREMELY pleased with my new (old) patchwork quilt- well, I actually I can’t really call it that because it’s not quilted or even attached to a backing fabric, but it is WONDERFUL!
It’s handmade and very soft from age and washing. It’s currently on the back of the sofa for chilly moment, but I’m wondering if I should turn it into a quilt and back it with some old velvet? Or would the comfort of that be just TOO luxurious and overwhelming?
Walking through Borough Market the other day made me think of this Edward Bawden lino cut.
BOROUGH MARKET - Edward Bawden, 1967. Tate Modern. And then I got thinking about his beautiful, jaunty artwork for Fortnum’s. Gorgeous stuff!
Of course I am a big fan of that pigeon/dove… 
I’ve always loved this Tim Walker photo of pastel coloured cats so it was lovely to read about the behind the scenes process of making the picture here. POWDER PAINT!
Do watch this GLORIOUS interview with a 5 year old walking enthusiast from 1971. The plimsolls! The singing! The Opinions! The STRIDING!❤️
At the Nöel Coward theatre last weekend I was THRILLED by this picture of Patrica Routledge on a poster for a past production.
How I aim to look in my next author portrait. The other evening I watched this documentary: Nancy Mitford: A Portrait by her Sisters.
I love the Mitfords and have done for as long as I can remember. They even form part of the inspiration for the ramblingly large family in my book, Murder! By Narwhal!
This film, a tribute to Nancy M a few years after her death, is so funny and touching and poignant. It’s also lovely to see so much of Pamela who is often overlooked. I love the way her nose crinkles up when she laughs (and of course her periwinkle blue Aga - said to match her eyes).
I MUST get this book. It ticks all my boxes.
For Reasons Unknown, I have had The Stepsisters’ Lament from Rodgers and H’s Cinderella stuck in my head all week so I am now passing that on to you all.
I loved Andrew Scott’s look from the Met Gala this past week - the colours!
📷: Getty I bought these Beverly Nichols books from a secondhand bookshop this week and they are lovely.
I also think the opening para to Down The Garden Path is q. inspirational…
AND as a bonus, both books have gorgeous Rex Whistler illustrations throughout. BEHOLD THIS ENDPAPER! Sensational!
AND FINALLY…
Oh, to be this hen having a nice cup of tea and a sit down…
Thank you for joining this week’s JOY PARADE!
I hope you all have a lovely Sunday. I’m going to be in the garden marking out new veg beds and trying to look as if I have a single clue as to what I’m doing.
I’ll be back next weekend with Joy Parade No. 6. In the meantime, do follow me on Instagram (I’m @mralextsmith over there) and also subscribe to and share this newsletter to all your chums. Post a comment below as well - I’d love that! Thank you so much!
In Tearing Haste,
Alex T Smith
HEAD PIGEON.
A great big hug of joy! Loved it, thank you! 💕
I do so admire your fondness for people who might otherwise be Quite Trying.