February ‘16
Dear
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This is always an exciting time of year for us, not only as we prepare to show off our new season collection but also as we anticipate the warmer weather in which to wear it. But this year we’ve got more than ever to look forward to in the season ahead – beautiful new designs and new styles, stunning new photography and loads of fantastic stories surrounding the new collection. In this month’s newsletter, for instance, we have an interview with the lovely Sam Baker and a competition to win a four-night stay at the amazing Balancing Barn in Suffolk. And that’s just the start. There’s lots more fun to come...
Mandy Watkins Creative director and founder.
2 blood oranges, segmented Up to 110ml blood orange juice 20ml lemon juice 60g maple syrup 1 pinch salt ½ tsp orange blossom water ½ small radicchio, leaves separated 1 small red endive, leaves separated 1 tbsp olive oil Coarse sea salt and black pepper 150g good quality ricotta cheese 20g pinenuts, toasted 100g pomegranate seeds
Start by making an orange syrup. Cut the top and bottom of each orange, then cut down the sides, following the fruit’s natural lines, to remove the skin and white pith. Hold the fruit over a small bowl and cut in between the membranes, thereby removing the individual segments. Put these into the bowl. Squeeze any remaining juices from the fruit into a small saucepan, then add enough juice to bring it up to 110ml. Add the lemon juice, syrup and a pinch of salt, and bring to a light simmer. Leave to reduce for 20-25 minutes, until you’re left with about three tablespoons of thick syrup. Strain through a fine sieve, allow it to cool down, then stir in the orange blossom water.
BITTERSWEET SALAD Recipe from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press). Photography by Colin Campbell. I don’t usually celebrate Valentine’s Day… But if you twisted my arm and forced me to, I guess I would choose this salad to celebrate the day, representing the more realistic flavours of love: bitter and sweet.
To assemble the dish, roughly tear the radicchio leaves into large pieces and put in a bowl. Add the endive leaves, oil, salt and pepper, then toss gently. Divide the dressed leaves between two plates, building up the salad by dotting it with orange segments and spoonfuls of ricotta. Drizzle the syrup on top and finish with a scattering of pinenuts and pomegranate seeds.
We’re Listening to...
The 1975, The Sound
Banks, Waiting Game
Love Somebody, St Lucia
Blud, SOAK
Running Out, Matoma & Astrid S
Hold Open My Head, Nai Harvest
If the winter blues are getting you down, then let renowned filmmaker Luca Guadagnino transport you to a sun-drenched Italian hideaway with Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes and Dakota Johnson for company in his beautifully stylish new thriller, A Bigger Splash. When a high-profile couple – a rock star and a filmmaker – decide to go on holiday on a remote island, their rest is disrupted by the sudden visit of an old friend and his sexy, yet mysterious daughter. Suddenly, what was supposed to be a relaxing getaway turns into a whirlwind of jealousy, passion and danger for everyone in the group. A remake/update of La Piscine, Jacques Deray’s 1969 psychosexual classic starring Alain Delon, Romy Schneider and Jane Birkin, the film makes a few tweaks to the original. It’s set in Pantelleria rather than the French Riviera, for example, and Swinton’s character Marianne is a rock legend recovering from an operation rather than a journalist… Stylish, with breath-taking cinematography and a great cast… we can’t wait to see it. ©2015 STUDIOCANAL S.A. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ARTWORK GRAPHICS PIERRE-MARIE.
In cinemas from February 12th.
Fantasy Girls’ Night Out. You get to choose six women – dead or alive – to spend the evening with. Who? And where do you go? Ooooh. My immediate reaction was to go nuts: Nora Ephron, JK Rowling, Patti Smith, Joan Didion, Nigella Lawson, Tina Fey... And then I thought, hang on a minute, that’s going to be smart women overload, I’ll just sit there too terrified to speak, and I got cold feet. But the truth is, I have rarely met a woman I admired who didn’t turn out to be just as nice and interesting and occasionally self-doubting as the next person, so I’m going to be brave and go for that. I don’t care where we go anywhere not too poncey or pricey, with food, wine and comfy seats will do nicely.
We’re on Instagram.
Book you wish you’d written? Right now, the follow up to The Woman Who Ran!
In Conversation With... Sam Baker
Film you’d like to see a sequel of? I’m not sure I can think of a film (that isn’t a series) that has benefited from a sequel.
Editor of some of the UK’s best-selling magazines, author and founder of one of our favourite online sites, The Pool (the-pool.com).
What are you listening to at the moment? Bowie. Like the rest of the country. But before that I discovered Daughter via Lauren’s new music to look out for in 2016 playlist on The Pool.
Do you ever worry you will run out of things to write about? Not really. You just get up, and go on the internet. You’ll find something to write about, trust me! What is your top tip to unwind? I have no clue. My brain is permanently set to spin cycle. It’s not something I’m massively proud of. If you know someone with good tips for unwinding, send them my way. I do walk as much as I can (I’m addicted to my Fitbit), but I can’t say it’s a failsafe technique. What is the best advice you have ever been given? Weirdly, the best advice I was ever given was bad advice. A careers teacher at my school told me ‘girls like me’ (by which I assume he meant a bit clever, a lot working class) shouldn’t get ridiculous ideas about being a journalist. That moment of being told I couldn’t drove me for years afterwards.
Sunrise or sunset? Both, in theory. Although as I have to get up at 6am most days, I’m losing the love for sunrise. Spring or autumn? Autumn. I love the leaves and the nights drawing in. Over or underdressed? *Picks self up off the floor laughing* Woefully ,woefully underdressed on every single occasion. When was the last time you laughed out loud? Answering the previous question. What word do you overuse? Sorry. Just. All those “girl” words that are meant to hold you back at work.
What would you tell your 18-year-old self? That careers teacher? Ignore him! We think female friendships are something that should be treasured and celebrated. What quality do all your friends share? An ability to pick up after long periods of silence as if we last saw each other yesterday. No-one has time to see each other every few weeks like we used to in our twenties, so the capacity to sit down, pour a drink and pick up precisely where you left off is the ultimate.
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Best holiday destination? Paris. We’re lucky enough to share the rent on a flat (more like a cupboard) there with a friend. I can’t get there often enough.
What is the one thing that people would be surprised to know about you? I lost the obstacle race at junior school because I stopped to try on all the hats. I always did have problematic hair. Sam’s new novel, The Woman Who Ran is out 28 th January (harpercollins, £7.99)
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Go Graphic Architecturally-inspired pieces from the spring/summer collection.
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1. Becca Printed Duster Coat, £70 2. Onyx Leather Jacket, £280 3. S/S Annabelle Dress, £55 4. Lauren Dress, £65 5. Ava Jacket, £95 6. Leather A-Line Skirt, £200
WIN... A four-night stay at The Balancing Barn hush-uk.com/februar ycompetition
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