Issue 71 - Sophia Di Martino by The Essential Journal

OCTOBER 2023 ISSUE 71

FA S H I O N - L I F E S T Y L E - C U LT U R E

THE WOMAN IN BLOOM TAKES US BACK TO HER ROOTS PAGE 48

SOPHIA DI MARTINO TOM FORD SS24 PAGE 34

ESSENTIALJOURNAL.CO.UK

AMERICAN ARISTOTLE: MARTIN SCORSESE AND THE CREATION OF THE AMERICAN MYTH PAGE 66

GEMMA WHELAN PAGE 72

C R E AT E D & P U B L I S H E D B Y

E S S E N T I A L S T U D I O.C O. U K

CONTENTS ISSUE SEVENTY ONE 7 THE EDITOR'S NOTE // 12-19 THE PRIMER 20 ON THE SHELF // 22-23 COLUMN: ROHIN JOHAL 24-25 ESSENTIAL TRAVELS: VERMONT // 26-27 AN ESSENTIAL INTRODUCTION: IMOGENE + WILLIE // 28-29 COLUMN: LOUIS BENEVENTI 30-31 DMR X PENINSULA LONDON // 32-33 BLEU DE CHAUFFE 34-37 TOM FORD SS24 // 38-39 THE HEART & SOLE OF AMERICA 40-43 LEVIS X ERL // 44-45 ARBOR COLLECTIVE: THE PIVOT MICRON 48-57 SOPHIA DI MARTINO // 59-61 THE ATLAS OF CAR DESIGN 62-65 SLAUGHTER BEACH, DOG // 66-71 MARTIN SCORSESE: AMERICAN ARISTOTLE // 72-75 GEMMA WHELAN: FROM PETTICOATS TO TRENCHCOATS 76-79 MEET THE MAKER: DAVID COOPER // 80-81 COLUMN: EMMY HALLAHAN 90-91 THE REFUGE AT KIMPTON CLOCKTOWER // 93-95 COFFEA ARABICA 96-97 ONE MORE DRINK // 98 CONTRIBUTORS

THE ESSENTIAL JOURNAL STAFF editor-in-chief

BETH BENNETT

b.bennett@essentialstudio.co.uk

creative director

lead designer

THOMAS SUMNER

EVIE FRIAR

t.sumner@essentialstudio.co.uk

web and social media manager

JULIA AUCHEY

evie.friar@essentialstudio.co.uk

j.auchey@essentialstudio.co.uk

business partnerships

director

JAMES DOUGLAS

RICHARD SINGLETON

THOMAS SINGLETON

j.douglas@essentialstudio.co.uk

r.singleton@essentialstudio.co.uk

tom@essentialstudio.co.uk

ESSENTIALJOURNAL.CO.UK // @ESSENTIALJOURNAL published by ESSENTIAL STUDIO // ESSENTIALSTUDIO.CO.UK

WRITERS Louis Beneventi, Emmy Hallahan, Rohin Johal, Katie Marshall, Georgia Moore, Cal Smith, Elysia Smith

82-83 ESSENTIAL PANTRY // 84-85 AMERICAN DINERS // 86-89 ADAM SMITH

interview

BETH BENNETT

THE COVER IMAGE

THE EDITOR'S NOTE

TRUE PATRIOTISM SPRINGS FROM A BELIEF IN THE DIGNITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL, FREEDOM AND EQUALITY NOT ONLY FOR AMERICANS BUT FOR ALL PEOPLE ON EARTH.” Eleanor Roosevelt

THE EDITOR'S NOTE

pictured

SOPHIA DI MARTINO photographed by

BETH BENNETT location

BATTERSEA PARK

LLIO FFLUR art direction

EVIE FRIAR interview

BETH BENNETT

THE COVER IMAGE

What is it the Statue of Liberty says? ‘I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’

BETH BENNETT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

pictured

SOPHIA DI MARTINO

hair and makeup

Growing up, I was a Cartoon Network kid. This isn’t all that interesting because so many of us were too — well, maybe Nickelodeon or Disney if I’m going to be pedantic. But Cartoon Network was were it was at! Dexter’s Lab, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Cow and Chicken, Courage, Ed Edd and Eddy. Saturday cartoons were these weird, nihilistic, surreal pieces that definitely served to set up the millennial and older gen z for some odd relationship with philosophy. For me, Cartoon Network was the first real insight into that great big land across the Pacific. It was a constant stream of this other culture, kind of like ours but altogether different. When I got older, and looked to The Simpsons, Friends, Scrubs, and The Sopranos, there was a fascination there with America. The people, the way of life, the fact they were these little countries that weren’t actually countries but might as well have been sharing the same President, the same currency, the same brands of cars. As you grow up, a cloud descends of the childlike wonderment, you become aware of the murky grey, the history and the present embroiled in awful attitudes and laws. What was once this mythical other world is corrupted by the truth, and the fascination wanes. But there’s a listlessness in it, a longing for magic, for a better place. So this issue is all about the American Dream, a celebration of the uniqueness and triumph of those who endure despite that waning wonder, for those who try to make the world a better place for all of us whether it’s through defiance, through criticism, through making their own magic.

THE IMAGE

BOTH MEMBERS OF THIS CLUB (1909) GEORGE BELLOWS, AMERICAN PAINTER. Held as part of the Chester Dale Collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE WEARING

DEUS EX MACHINA X MATT WILLEY

Inspired by the Motor Racing Mecca of Monaco, this work jacket from Deus Ex Machina and designer Matt Wiley is the perfect throw-over for stepping into the change of seasons. With refined and robust fabrication, a smart corduroy collar, and a patterned inner lining for a pop of colour, this jacket weaves a narrative from history whilst being undeniably modern.

deuscustoms.com £190

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE READING

THE CREATIVE ACT: A WAY OF BEING BY RICK RUBIN Rick Rubin is more than a music producer, more than a businessman, more than a creative. Over his many decades of working in the music industry, Rubin has been able to reframe a musician’s relationship with their craft, working with them to manufacture a safe and creative environment for them to hone their specialism, deeply understand their skills, and produce eradefining music. The Creative Act: A Way of Being is Rubin’s manifesto. An amalgamation of his philosophies and work ethic, combined with a dryly humorous tone, the book invites you to adjust your television boxes and fiddle with your radio frequencies; it doesn’t order change, instead it inspires it. Joining the pantheon beside great thinkers like John Berger and Walter Benjamin, Rubin’s work is an accessible insight into a new way of hearing, seeing, and being.

The Creative Act: A Way of Being is published by Canongate Books and available from all major bookstores.

THE PRIMER

WHO WE'RE LISTENING TO

BLEACHERS - LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL Few command a crowd like Jack Antonoff. Having frequently worked with some of the biggest icons in pop and indie from Taylor Swift to Lorde, Antonoff’s hearty production and electric persona intertwine in this addictive recording of his band’s New York gig. Personal, powerful, and most of all, fucking fun, Bleachers perform a variety of their hits from their previous albums to the rapturous celebration of fans and, of course, with the accompaniment of Bruce Springsteen for their Jersey anthem Chinatown. This album is a perfect live recording, the kind that makes you feel like you’re there, and one we’re sure to revisit over and over. Bleachers Live at Radio City Music Hall is available to stream wherever you get your music. @bleachersmusic

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE DRINKING

SHANKY'S WHIP

A true original, Shanky’s Whip is both bolstered by avibrant aesthetic and a smoothly unique flavour. Defying tradition, this black liqueur and whiskey blend stands out as an addictive, versatile drink that you’ll be reaching for every weekend. Drawn in by the artisanal bottle, we’ve found ourselves bowled over by the masterful blending of quintessential Irish flavours that can be dressed up with mixers or served in their singularity smooth and straight. Shanky’s Whip is sure to keep the cold weather at bay. shankyswhip.com

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

STRANGE WAY OF LIFE

Spain’s most prolific filmmaker, Pedro Almodóvar, invites us into his latest short film produced — as a debut — by fashion house Saint Laurent. Starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, Strange Way of Life is Almodóvar’s haughty love-letter, and critical reinvention, of the American Western — he leans into the familiar setting but, as one could only expect from Almodóvar, he infuses it with colour and excitement, all the while focusing on the desire between his two leads. A first for the genre, Almodóvar creates a tangled web of honour and law between the old lovers, as the push and pull of their wants crafts an intimately erotic affair without a need for overt displays. The flicker of Pascal’s eyes and the fidget of Hawke’s hands creates sensuality, longing, and love, in such a truthfully honest way that Almodóvar has been able to capture a universe in thirty minutes. An essential watch.

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS For over 20 years, the start of Fall has acted as a schoolbell for the music scene – it’s time to head South, to Zilker Park in Austin Texas, for two weekends of music madness. Broadcast live on PBS, Austin City Limits welcomes an array of musicians across the folk, indie, country, and rock genres to grace their stages as eager audiences across the world tune in. With acts like Kendrick Lamar, Maggie Rogers, The Lumineers, The 1975, Foo Fighters, Shania Twain, Hozier, and Little Simz – to name just a few – there’s something for all of us on the Austin green and we can’t wait to sing along with them all. This year’s Austin City Limits Festival runs Oct 6-8 & 13-15, 2023. aclfestival.com

ON THE SHELF Flowers

created by Will Sharpe Sometimes, you stumble on a piece of art at just the right moment in your life that it leaves a permanent etch on your chest. At a time when the world doesn’t quite make sense and the feelings you have seem a solitary infliction, you find something that recognises your thoughts exactly. It doesn’t happen often, no, but when it does, that piece of art becomes a sort of liferaft, intrinsically special. No other art comes close to the experience of watching Flowers for me. A small tale of a depressed children’s author and his haphazard family (and the illustrator who lives in the garden shed) with a reliable cast in Julian Barrett, Olivia Colman, Sophia Di Martino, Daniel Rigby and creator Will Sharpe. But Sharpe’s filmmaking is nothing short of poetic, profound – it’s a complicated blend of ridiculous comedy and heart wrenching drama. Claustrophobic direction and innovative cinematography, with an operatic and twisting score, crack open your ribs and allow the Flowers family to bury themselves in your heart.

WORDS BETH BENNETT

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COLUMN

FASHION IN THE COST OF LIVING CRISIS

WORDS

ROHIN JOHAL

@___daskaran___ Rohin is a DJ based in Staines. Often found travelling the world and meeting new cultures, when Rohin finally gets a minute to themselves, they'll be engaged in Japanese media or watching Bollywood films with their Grandma. Oh, and they're wickedly good at limbo.

COLUMN

Right now in the UK the cost of everything keeps going up, from the price of bread to the bigger purchases in life everything is becoming more dear. In this period of time of exponential cost there are still many ways to keep the cost of looking good cheaper. From designer brands to a basic t-shirt you need for everyday use, there are an assortment of ways in which we find bargains, this will keep you looking fresh on a tight budget but don't be fooled by the price of these items because they can still be amazing quality for a fraction of the price.

Admittedly clothes swaps are not very common but if you happen to have a local one near you I can not recommend it enough. They have cropped up in little pockets across London so make sure to check if there is one in your local community! It’s also a great way to share your clothes you no longer wear with other people, and if you don’t pick

I know the temptation to go out on the weekend is always strong, especially after a long week of work, but resisting this urge will not only save you money (maybe) but also means you can wake up early and hit the car boot sales. Not every item will be cheap, nonetheless bargains are still out there to be found and, even if you don’t find anything to buy, you can always find more inspiration and try to find cheaper alternatives via some of the ways previously mentioned. This will keep you up to date on your style choices all at the fraction of the cost of buying brand new! I'm not going to pretend that any of this information is groundbreaking, although if there are any options here that you haven’t tried I definitely recommend giving all of them a go. The joys of searching can lead to magical discoveries and even if you don't find anything you want to buy, you can still gain inspiration for looks and styles you're interested in.

This will be no secret now, but shopping using second hand apps like Depop, Vinted or Ebay are the best way to get big brands for the lowest prices. Not only will you be able to get items you actually want, buying second hand is much more sustainable so if you haven’t used these apps now is the time to start!!! There are also other apps and websites I haven’t mentioned and the best way to utilise them is to use them all, as Ebay can be very hit and miss with what you can find. However, using a platform like Grailed is a lot more effective when trying to find designer brands as it is directly catered for doing so. Yes, using all these sites in conjunction with each other will be time consuming. On the other hand, you will get the items you want for a fraction of the price.

anything up at least you gain some wardrobe space again. After going to a few I can say you can always find items you like but also pieces you have never even thought about wearing before. It can be a great way to start experimenting with different styles and looks, while still being free, so there really is no downside to going. If there aren’t any clothes swaps happening near you, you can always start swapping clothes with friends and, from there, you can tell more people and let the community grow wherever you live! You can use your own sense of style to change the way your friends' clothes can be worn and really try to push your limits and evolve your personal style in so many different directions, all for the small price of nothing.

ESSENTIAL TRAVELS

WORDS KATIE MARSHALL PHOTOGRAPHY KATIE MARSHALL

Our good pal and globetrotter Katie Marshall is on a mission to visit every European city before she turns thirty. With a passion for making travel both financially and physically accessible for everyone, we invited her to share her adventures with us and pass her hacks on to you. For this issue, however, she's taken a detour to the US to tell us all her tips and tricks for surviving and thriving in Vermont.

All I really knew about Vermont before moving there was that it had pretty scenery, Bernie Sanders, and more flavors of Ben & Jerry’s than my little English brain could ever conceive of. I still don’t really know what a pep rally is, I’m still confused by the sheer amount of US flags everywhere (do you really need to put them in the middle of a highway?) and I learned alarmingly quickly that warnings of just how many people would tell me they loved my accent were no exaggeration, but I was taken aback by just how much I liked it there. I moved to the biggest town in Vermont, which is a bit like saying I moved to the warmest part of the Arctic Circle, but as someone who enjoys heavy snow and a reduced chance of homophobic hate crimes, Burlington felt like the place to be. Vermont is a strange state, the intersection of left-wing politics and extremely rural living: I'll forever remember seeing someone holding a gun on a porch while also having a Black Lives Matter

sign in their window. One of my earliest discoveries was the fact that they call soft-serve ice cream a creemee, and I briefly thought I'd stepped through the looking glass. but it’s a beautiful state, and Burlington is a beautiful city - ice-cream naming crimes be damned. Vermont gave me a lot of things. Women’s ice hockey (exclusively women’s ice hockey - I did not, and do not, give a single solitary fuck about men’s sports). A hamster named Satch who runs exclusively in counter-clockwise circles. A fierce, protective love for a peach Yerba. It gave me a fierce sense of independence, the ability to go out in shorts in minusfive blizzards, the chance to start up a disability union and create a community from scratch. Most of all, it gave me a huge sense of grief when I had to leave, something I still experience months after getting back to the UK. You can plan out every second of your year, but nothing prepares you for the feeling of suddenly having to leave your friends, your adopted

university, the routines you’ve set. I miss them.

America has many self-given nicknames - the Land of the Free, the Home of the Brave, the Empire of Liberty; I’ll let you decide if you think they’re accurate. It is, however, one of the most unique and memorable places I’ve been to. It’s essentially fifty countries in a trench coat. Its inhabitants are both its strength and its weakness, its economic policy has propelled it to superpower status, but stagnated it in ways I don’t know it can recover from. I found out the hard way that if you see flags for certain political candidates you may not agree with, the correct response is to avoid eye contact and laugh about it later; not - as I discovered - to loudly say, “What the fuck is that,” in the middle of a rural New Hampshire gas station. Lesson learned. All the same, I miss it. Moving somewhere when you know there’s an expiration date makes for a hell of an upset when you have to leave, but you really do have to put that aside and take every second of it. If nothing else, I know I did that. And I got a t-shirt from the Portland Cryptozoology Museum, so, what more could I have asked for? @katiec2210

I sometimes hate how much I loved it there - America as a whole terrifies me; growing up in Europe means associating it with bad tourists, guns, and expensive healthcare, and I'd say those stereotypes were often pretty on the money. I still have medical debt, I’m scared every day by the political state of things, and one more American complaining that Europe doesn’t have drinking water is going to result in capital murder, but I’d go back in a heartbeat. We often think of the US as a never-ending highway studded with the occasional Pizza Hut - and in many cases, it is - but it’s also home to the most breathtakingly beautiful places. I was fortunate enough to travel to nine states in ten months, and I miss finding the individual traits and treasures in them all. I miss the little English shop in Santa Monica, California, and the owner who slipped me a scone for free as a little taste of home. I miss the flight attendant on the way to Seattle who saw my Rockford Peaches t-shirt and talked to me about her hometown for an hour. I miss staying in New York City and eating six different cuisines in a day without even leaving the Upper West Side. I still dream of empanadas.

AN ESSENTIAL INTRODUCTION

" We have always revered clothing that you want to live in: a thread-bare tee, a sun-faded jacket, a super soft work shirt.

WORDS & INTERVIEW BETH BENNETT & JACKIE BERKLEY IMAGERY COURTESY OF IMOGENE + WILLIE On a hot and balmy night in July 2009, Carrie and Matt swung open the doors of a new refurbished Nashville service station and first invited a waiting brethren into the world of imogene + willie. Luxury, artisanal, and with a focus on timeless style, imogene + willie soon established themselves as a symbol of Americana style. We sat down with Director of People + Culture, Jackie Berkley, who brought that Southwest charm and caught us up on the story so far...

" We have always revered

Can you give a little background to how you got started? imogene + willie began in 2009, when our founders Carrie and Matt Eddmenson set out to create the perfect jean. They set up shop in a converted 1950’s service station in the heart of 12 South – a nowbustling neighborhood of Nashville. They built the brand with a focus on denim, and a steadfast, unwavering commitment to making all of our goods in the USA. What was it about making/selling unique jeans that drove you to create imogene + willie? Why jeans in particular? Carrie + Matt have a long history working in the denim industry, cutting their teeth at Carrie's family’s business, Sights Denim Systems. This was a laundry facility that facilitated the washing for denim brands all across the country, but further provided sampling and development services. When NAFTA incentivized offshore production in the 90s, business started dwindling as

companies shuttered or moved away from domestic production. Ultimately the demise of Sights Denim, this process lit the fire for the couple when they went to start their own enterprise and attempt to preserve the American legacy of denim in the USA. When did you decide to expand your range and incorporate more clothing? While jeans are the foundation of the business, we have always revered clothing that you want to live in: a thread-bare tee, a sun-faded jacket, a super soft work shirt. Slowly, over the years, we added a few more pieces into the collection: the “plus” tee that was originally made from old military tees, the “nashville” tee which was wood-block carved and hand-stamped (accidentally, to start), the “jack” jacket was a chore coat made with brown canvas… eventually, it seemed like we had a full collection of unisex pieces that opened the door to becoming an apparel brand rather than a denim brand.

What philosophy do you follow when crafting garments? How do you ensure that you stick to that philosophy? Our philosophy is: made with love and made to last. We ask ourselves, do we feel good about adding this product into the world? Do we feel good about making it? Can we make it in the USA? If the answer to all of those questions is yes, then we push ahead. Can you talk a little bit about your collaborations? How do you decide who to work with?

We love to use collaborations as an opportunity to support other brands from whom we can learn about improved sourcing and production models. Why do you value having brick and mortar stores and not just online like other brands? Our stores are the heartbeat of imogene + willie. They allow us to connect in person with our customers, provide special and memorable experiences, and engage with our community. We have always taken a grassroots approach to marketing, and our stores have been the focal point of this all along. Can you talk a bit about the American influence in your designs? Our designs are primarily inspired by vintage workwear and American military

You use proper printing methods and hand drawn designs, how do you go about these sorts of things? We have an incredible team in-house that illustrates all of our graphic designs, led by Matt who is a visual artist. Since the early days, we’ve worked with a top-rate screen printer in Nashville called Kangaroo Press, the brainchild of Ryan Nole another talented artist himself. We have been working with Ryan on our graphic designs since the very beginning of the company, almost 15 years ago. We actually just announced in the past week that we acquired his business, and Ryan has come on board as our director of screen print and graphic development. It’s a huge step for us to continue to develop extremely special and one of a kind printing processes.

wife, Fiona, and his record label, Oh Boy Records in order to support his legacy foundation called Hello In There. What's next for you? We will be looking for the opportunities that make us really excited. We will return to old traditions that folks have come to know and love, but we will explore the ideas that feel totally unexpected. We will work on collaborations with other small, madein-the-USA brands that we admire. We will continue to rally around, and ultimately fight for, the preservation of American textile and apparel production. We’ll always stay committed to putting our people first. @imogeneandwillie

Can you talk a little about the community and event aspects of the brand too? Absolutely! As I have stressed, community is everything to our brand. We like to share our spaces and welcome our friends into it whenever possible. A handful of times each year, we throw big parties with a “come one, come all” attitude. There’s typically good music, food + drinks, and friends - old and new. These often take place around large events happening in our cities anywhere from our SXSW event in March to our Round Up event in September. Outside of that we like to get creative with our approach, for instance, this year we revived our annual Pinewood Derby in Nashville, which we hope to expand next year in Austin. We host other brands to take up residency at our shops for popups. We have a keen focus on philanthropic events where we rally around causes, for instance we have a John Prine tribute event coming up, on which we collaborated with his late

IMOGENE +

Depends how you look at this one. We’ve been collaborating with our community since day one. We think of every team member and customer as a partner in what we’ve built, and together we have formed a really special community. Product collaborations, however, are something we have approached rather cautiously. We are lucky that almost everything we’ve ever made has been developed under our roof. More recently, we have grown to a size to have the bandwidth and resources to work on projects with other made-in-the-USA brands with aligned values. We only say yes when it feels entirely right and everything is aligned, if the team can take it on, and when everyone is excited about it, etc.

pieces. Denim was originally worn by coal miners, then by farmers and industrial workers in the early 20th century, but around the 50s, jeans were worn by young Americans and celebrities like Elvis and James Dean. Their popularity exploded as denim went from a utility fabric to a fashion statement, so while denim isn’t unique to America, the cultural impact comes from Americana.

" Our philosophy is: made with love and made to last. We ask ourselves, do we feel good about adding this product into the world?

COLUMN

A PLACE FOR EVERYONE

WORDS

LOUIS BENEVENTI

@louisbeneventi Louis is a content creator based in London. Along with being a master barber, Louis also finds time to drink excessively large glasses of wine -apt, considering he, unfortunately, happens to be a Chelsea fan.

COLUMN

I know I say it every issue, and I’m certain you lot are sick of it, but I’m a barber. If this is the first time you’re reading and didn’t know that: Hi, nice to meet you, and where the fuck have you been? Welcome to the chair. This month, we were given a bit of free reign, which is always dangerous with me. Been doing a podcast about Chelsea recently and we’ve gone of on tangents in true Joe Rogan fashion when we’ve been questioning humanity rather than who we’re signing. It’s awesome. Anyway, when Beth pinged me the email earlier this month, it set my brain whirring. Within EJ, we're always discussing the current climate, and even though it’s hot, might be too hot (might be), I’ve always liked a bit of social commentary. So we’re going to get deep. Despite falling into the “geezer camp,” I quite like to pride myself on the fact that I’m in touch with my emotions. I cried in the Piglet Movie and cry at anything Pixar do. But I digress, we’re not here to talk about me, as much as I love being the centre of attention. I want to touch on barbershop culture and certain things I feel WE could do better.

Now there’s so many amazing shops and barbers out there that are great for everyone. I couldn’t recommend Thy Barber in Shoreditch highly enough for this or Project Barber in Clapham. The lads are so accommodating to everyone. I say that because they put up with my shit on the regular. But having said this, there are of course places where people feel uncomfortable. I’m not going to sit here and preach. Not my style, and I’m sure 99% of people will eye-roll and turn the page. I get it. But I can’t stress enough how important it is that as barbers, we create a

I hear how tough it is out there to be yourself right now. It’s shit. Homophobic attacks are rife, we have a government that doesn’t care about anyone except their mates, and the social divides in the UK are becoming more and more apparent. It’s a time when we can explore and grow, and I’m all for it. But as much as barbers should be willing to explore, I strongly recommend that you all do the same, whoever you are. Sure, if you want to spend a tenner and be in and out, that’s your prerogative. But I can tell you now, making that investment will make you feel so much better, and you’ll find the right person to look after you, AND be part of that community building. Bringing a good vibe into a shop always lifts the place. I could have been cutting all day, hating it, dealing with the same small talk constantly, and then BOOM. This energy walks into a shop and lifts the place, because a barber has their perfect client and vice versa. That back and forth and ability to have fun when you’re in the chair makes that time great, and always sees great stories. It’s that sense of community which we need to help each other to build. I don’t care who you are when you get in my chair, as long as it’s hygienic, and you’re clean, I’ll cut your hair. I’m not going to be everyone’s cuppa tea, and I’m fine with that. Finding the right fit for you and your life, is something I can’t stress enough. I’ve been in shops where they haven’t had a clue how to do a scissor cut, but have been adamant they’re the best barbers in the world. It’s bullshit and machismo like that that makes people walk away, and I’m glad I did, because now I’ve cut in places and had my haircut in places where the culture has allowed me, and my clients to flourish. So, barbers. The ones that are blokes, ladies and everyone in between, let’s keep the good vibes going in our shops. And if you’re struggling to find somewhere, keep looking and those good vibes will find you. When they do, don’t let it go, because you’ll only make that community better. It’s what Arthur, and so many other clients have done when they’ve explained how they do things. Don’t let Rishi and his cronies' divisiveness split us down the middle. Let’s all come together in barbershops and tell them to fuck off.

Now I’ve been round my fair share of shops since training. Bounced all over London, and every shop is different, however I have seen a bit of a recurring theme. I’ve recently had an influx of several non-binary and transgender clients, which I’m extremely grateful for. I’m grateful for anyone who trusts me to cut their hair, but these trims and conversations have been especially eye-opening for me. I’ve had a lot of conversations and a lot explained to me which I’ve noticed and taken on board. There’s been a recurring theme I’ve been informed of is how uncomfortable a lot of trans and non-binary customers are in shops.

welcoming environment and do everything we can for whoever it is in our chair. But, to help us do this, I also can’t stress enough about having the right barber and being in the right space can bring so much to an experience.

BEAUTY IN BELGRAVIA

WITH DAVID M. ROBINSON

WORDS BETH BENNETT

David M Robinson’s newest luxury boutique is set to open at the new five-star Peninsula London Hotel. Found firmly rooted in between Hyde Park Corner and Wellington Arch, The Peninsula London is a luxurious escape right in the heart of the Capital’s Belgravia district. It’s only mere steps away from Buckingham Palace and the sense of regality — whilst remaining harmoniously modern — permeates every corner of the hotel, built under the impeccable design of Hopkins Architects. Superbly curated with a quintessentially British aesthetic, the hotel is founded upon a vast collaboration network with some of the country’s most acclaimed artists and creators. This also expands further into a sample of the hotel’s ground-floor retail arcade, boasting a range of luxury boutiques set to open before Christmas this year.

Company director, John Robinson, spoke on the boutique’s forthcoming opening: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with our friends at The Peninsula London, home of our second showroom in the capital. We look forward to welcoming clients from around the UK and further afield to this exquisite hotel at one of the city's most enviable of locations.” The expansion of DMR over the past several years has been monumental, with this boutique and their third Liverpool ONE store set to be the largest of its kind in the country. Needless to say, DMR is a luxurious icon, firmly solidified in their role as an essential place for jewellery and watch enthusiasts across the country. The Peninsula London 1 Grosvenor Pl, London SW1X 7HJ davidmrobinson.com peninsula.com

One of these boutiques is David M. Robinson (DMR), our British heritage jewellery and watch friends. This luxury five-star hotel is the perfect setting for DMR’s warm and expert customer service, with the boutique itself feeling comfortably approachable for guests and those out shopping in historic Belgravia but with a constant sense of true grandeur.

A POSTCARD FROM SAINT-GEORGES-DELUZENÇON:

WORDS BETH BENNETT

Hand-crafted by artisans in Saint-GeorgesDe-Luzençon, Bleu De Chauffe’s collection of sustainably manufactured leather goods has caught the eye of quality purveyors around the world. Embracing the cultural heritage passed through France’s fashion forward history, the company strives to ensure each item is timeless, with a ruggedly made perseverance, to be handed down from generation to generation. Their unique Bazar Tote is no different. From the feel alone, the bag is exquisitely constructed, an ambience of expense accompanies it. Made from the same high quality cotton canvas as resistance jeeps in the early 1940s, the bag is both subtle and stylish with any outfit. Handles made from vegetabletanned leather provide a sturdy hold for your laptop, books, groceries, or whatever essentials, while a snap fastening keeps the bag tightly presented. Each piece comes with a unique label inside, detailing the date of production and the craftsman who brought it to life, which only adds to the individuality of the bag itself. This bag feels more than just an accessory, it feels like carrying around a piece of culture, of history, of art — an accoutrement of outstanding authenticity. bleu-de-chauffe.com

BLEU DE CHAUFFE’S BAZAR TOTE

TOM FORD SS24 AT MILAN FASHION WEEK

Peter Hawkings makes debut as new Creative Director of TOM FORD with a SS24 collection inspired by the founder’s evocative originality.

IMAGERY COURTESY OF GORUNWAY

WORDS BETH BENNETT

36 Nostalgia is, sometimes, a dirty word. In the fashion realm, nostalgia done wrong oozes an insincerity wrapped in a fragile creative confidence. I won’t name names but I’m sure a few instances have sprung to mind upon reading that definition. Nostalgia also, when done wrong, can feel textually derivative, a lude tracing of what was done before with a little extra shading as if to say, ‘Oh no, this is definitely original’. When Tom Ford announced, in what caused a rather tumultuous murmur across the fashion realm, that he would be selling his name-sake brand and stepping back, as the shockwaves settled, the only question

lingering on anyone’s mind was who could replace the maverick at his own head? Ford’s legacy is one of reinvention and revitalising, bringing a tumbling Gucci back to former glory in the early nineties during a time when the then creative director herself, Dawn Mello, had gone on record to say that ‘no one dreams of wearing Gucci’. He was lauded and criticised, celebrated and villainized, for his daring use of the human body – in particular that of women – his phallus-centred jewellery debacle, and, most recently, his outright disgust towards the evolution of Anna Wintour’s night of glamour: “That used to just be

very chic people wearing very beautiful clothes going to an exhibition about the 18th century. [...] It’s turned into a costume party.” Regardless of your persuasion, Tom Ford’s name, and thus the denotations of his label, are established in infamy. So how do you follow that? It’s in that very occasionally dirty word that Peter Hawkings looks to solve the anxiety of inevitable change. His taking over as Creative Director of TOM FORD from Tom Ford was announced in April this year following the label’s multi-billion dollar purchase by Estée Lauder but he wasn’t a fresh face by any means.

Hawkings had, in fact, been working alongside Ford for over 25 years since his Gucci days, even going as far to work under a shared set of creative codes – glamour, sexiness, elegance, and beauty – that are as a definitive a philosophy for the TOM FORD brand itself. Even in the run up to Ford’s departure, Hawkings revealed to Vogue that he’d been working on menswear in London whilst Ford handled womenswear in Los Angeles. Now helming both mens and womenswear, Hawkings imposed a strict connection between the two, vying for them to feel as though ‘they’re one universe’.

These guidelines – the TOM FORD philosophy and Hawkings’ singular approach to both genders – were a delicious combination that has invigorated the brand’s new era in an exciting new way. As the models stepped out on stage in Milan, coated in similar textures and sharp cuts, there could be no denying that Hawking was the right man for the job. Utilising the nostalgia of his own time with the great man Tom Ford, Peter Hawking evokes accessories, materials, and shapes that harken back to a late nineties Gucci but with the effervescence of now, of… not re-invention like when Ford arrived at

the brand, no, but of celebration for the past and a great respect of its role for the future. A perfectly transitional collection that manages to feel wholly new, wholly innovative, yet without forgoing the DNA of the roots that the name TOM FORD grew from.

@tomford tomford.com

WORDS ELYSIA SMITH

Travelling to all North American States is a wonderful dream, but one I did not have the funds for during my year abroad. I was blessed with being able to visit friends and sleep on their couch, meaning I was lucky enough to visit San Francisco and New York. I’ve always been a huge shoes girly, Let me begin, where I began, Massachusetts, Boston and L. L. Bean is the name of a brand that everyone is talking about. In my opinion, they are extremely practical snowshoes, in the eyes of people from the New England Region, they are fashionable. They are a traditionally boot style, fabric tan colour with an exaggerated blue, waterproof, sole. The grips on the sole are the key figure here, giving the ultimate grip that my Adidas Gazelles could never compete with. I bow down to residents of the North Eastern states because their winters are no joke and these shoes are a must! I appreciated the practicality being incorporated into their everyday style, because there simply is no other choice with the snowstorms. Jeans, T-shirt, (6 layers of thermals) and a puffer coat were the perfect match for the L.L. Bean shoes. When the winter months gave us a brief freak from ice-skating to classes, you could catch almost anyone in a pair of the timeless Converse Chuck Taylor All Star high tops. Any colour was cool, but there were varying ways in which these were worn. The clean and pristine looks were usually attributed to the preppy style of the ‘It girl’, whereas the grungier style, halflaced was also donned by many. Similarly found when I stepped into the hipster city of San Francisco in Northern California, where skater style will never die. The more beat up the better, the ones with holes in definitely earned you extra

cool points too. The fact that a brand that is so recognisable globally is still being lived in by the everyday American across all the states is really something quite sweet when you think about it. The marrying of different subcultures of fashion, music and sport was amazing to see and as someone who lives for how different people style their shoes, San Francisco was certainly a place to tantalise those taste buds. I found San Francisco ahead of the curve when it came to shoes, there were more people sporting traditionally English/ European brands such as Dr Martens, which wasn't something I noticed in too many of the other places I visited. Dr Martens in the University I was in were considered to be a bit more ‘out there’ so I would say SF made me feel a bit more comfortable outwardly expressing my fashion. I noticed also that comfy trainers were a must! I can’t imagine walking up and down those valleys of streets every day would be the best thing to do in uncomfortable shoes - I had very worn DM’s and Adidas Gazelles which was a blessing for a poor traveller who walked a majority of my way around the city. A comfort I definitely needed whilst visiting New York. It had been on my list whilst I was abroad, especially because I was living so

close. (In America a 6.5 hr drive to the next state is considered close). I’d argue that it’s considerably one of the biggest fashion Capitals in the world! For context, I was in America during 2017-2018, so times have most definitely changed, but while I was there I did see many a kitten heel and lots and lots of Ugg boots. I’m not mad, but I was surprised and a little taken aback, thinking back to the 19 year old me who wouldn’t be caught dead in either. Street style was huge also, more relaxed but still complex outfits would be donned with a pair of said kitten heels. But like I said, one of the most fashionable cities in the world, ahead of the curve. Everyone was different, and I don’t mean physically, I mean fashionably. A majority of New York residents are coherent with their fashion, no matter how outlandish. Walking in the constantly crowded streets of Manhattan felt as if we all went to a

high school where there were no social/ fashion cliques. It wasn’t like London as I’d imagined, women didn’t wear trainers on the tube and slipped into more pointy, less comfortable shoes. They all grit their teeth and bared it. But don’t get me wrong, I was staying in Queens (because as I stated earlier this was expensive) and the shoes there seemed as ordinary as ever, trainers, slip

ons, boots the usual that can be expected. This was the same across every state, there were styles that really stood out and then there were the everyday person (like myself) who wore for comfort and weather. In a nutshell, the idea of America being a melting pot of culture is true, especially when it comes to fashion and footwear. People strive for an individualistic style under a society that leans into conformity. Culture is hard to pinpoint, moreso when there is so much thrust into one space (like in major cities) but there are definite fluxes that match the weather, terrain and style of each state. I found that, although there

were alot of styles and brands worn across the country, they each had their own little twist which harkened back to the State the person came from. America’s culture is one that will long be studied from many different angles, but I personally think that the mixture of people really does contribute to the ever changing trends. @elysiafsmith

DISTRESSED & WELL DRESSED

In their first ever collaboration, the Levi’s® x ERL collection showcases an authentic tribute to the cool Cali aesthetic.

WORDS GEORGIA MOORE

42 There is an effortless synthesis of classic silhouettes and Venice Beach skating and surfing culture in the Levi’s® x ERL collection, successfully crashing two distinctly golden state clothing brands together in a collaboration that cites the laid-back vibes of California. Vividly saturated in waves of red, white, and blue, Eli Russell Linnetz’ stamp on the Levi’s® denim captures the American vintage aesthetic in a way that is faithful to the designer’s blend of retro and art pop visuals. The collection is a protest of identity and independence throughout; its fresh-faced look encapsulates the long open road of American past, present, and future and pays tribute to the counterculture combo of blue Levi’s® jeans and a white T-shirt, donned by the likes of James Dean and Marlon Brando. For ERL, “rebel without

a cause” is more than just a classic film title as self-expression permeates throughout the collection, insisting upon the timelessness of Levi’s® denim and the cultural significance it holds as a symbol of youth, freedom, and individualism in American history. Adding staple textures to the traditional Levi’s® form, ERL’s punchy take on American vintage reimagines the beloved classic Levi’s® cut. The Levi’s® x ERL 501® Split-leg Jeans feature a modern split leg detail, a removed pocket, and a unique ERL wave motif, effectively blending the traditional 501® jeans, a staple of Levi’s® since 1853, with the playfulness and coolness of ERL design. The Levi’s® x ERL

Stay Loose Jeans detail a more distressed and casual look with a frayed hem and waistband on the relaxed cut. In addition to revamping classic Levi’s® silhouettes, the collaboration rekindles a love for 1970’s bell-bottoms. The Levi’s® x ERL Low Rise Flare Jeans feature a superlow 8-inch rise, a vintage wide leg, and distressed knees for a contemporary twist. The rebelliousness of blue denim is consolidated by the subversive Cali skating culture in the Levi’s® x ERL Overall Shorts. In an homage to the late 1990’s / early 2000’s, the oversized board short silhouette is intended to be worn low, with the hem hitting below the knee, featuring blown-out details that evoke the

scraped skater aesthetic. The American nostalgia continues with a Levi’s® x ERL Heritage Dress, an archival inspired apron style dress. The ten-piece collection, established with a clear voice and a signature identity, is intended to allow for seamless mixing and matching, and customisation. This dreamy Californian team up is exactly the easy-going, casual vibe you would associate with skaters and surfers on Venice Beach, with a splash of vintage Americana. @geewlzz @levis @ erl__________

ARBOR COLLECTIVE:

The Pivot Micron Arbor is a brand firmly rooted in the historic landscape of extreme sports. From their inception, Arbor have championed riding fast, going hard and doing so while leaving as small an environmental footprint as possible. In their efforts to champion this spirit, they create high quality, sustainable snowboards and skateboards that are built to last and made to thrive on mountainsides and sidewalks alike. As a magazine that’s always looking for quality craftsmanship that functions as well as it looks, naturally this spoke to us. So we got in touch with Arbor to test out their latest range of 70s inspired boards: The Micron Series, and we took to the streets…

WORDS EVIE FRIAR PHOTOGRAPHY EVIE FRIAR The Pivot Micron is the middle child of the Micron series and the most nimble of the boards currently leaning next to my front door. Its roommates; a 32.5" surfskate and a standard 31" street board. At a humble 26 inches, the Micron is the runt of the pack but seems to deliver the best of the other two boards combined, while having the added benefit of being even more light and portable.

Imagery courtesy of Arbor Collective

It's perhaps Arbor's own Easyrider wheels that are doing the heavy lifting here though. The Pivot Micron is fitted with soft, 61mm wheels in a striking red urethane that rounds out the 70s design of the board perfectly. Their supple feel accommodates all terrains with a trusted grip that gives you the confidence to take on even the roughest roads, and they're fitted on bearings that give you the speed you want from a nifty little cruiser like this. It's the perfect additional to my roster, bridging the gap between my two other boards and offering me an option that's even more travel-friendly. @arborcollective @arborskateboards

Out on the streets, I was the most intrigued to see how the trucks would compare to my surfskate's. After all, it feels a little odd going from a board that allows for smooth carving and tight turns to a street board that has little flexibility in its ride. The Micron, however, has the perfect amount of give in its turns. Its trucks compliment the sustainably sourced, Canadian Maple deck in a way that allows you to feel the pliability of the wood without feeling too unsteady under your feet. It simply aids to create that all important flow in your crusing.

In Bloom 48

SOPH IA DI MARTINO

From university productions to the wailing sirens of procedural drama, to a tale of a flowering family in tatters, to the movies and beyond, Sophia Di Martino has been grafting for years. Earlier this year, we finally got a chance to catch up with her, in the blossoming fields of Battersea Park, and celebrate an actress in bloom.

WORDS & INTERVIEW BETH BENNETT PHOTOGRAPHY BETH BENNETT & EVIE FRIAR

Sophia wears: ZIGGY CHEN suit and Alice Cicolini ring.

EJ So, I saw you were in Manchester last weekend? SD Yeah, yeah, I’ve got a lot of friends there. I went to uni there and my brother’s there. So I went to hang out with them. EJ Nice break from the London heat? SD Yeah. I love Manchester. It’s changed so much. It feels completely different every time I go. EJ You grew up in Nottingham, right? SD Yeah. It feels like so long ago now, I left when I was eighteen and I’ve moved around so much since then. I went to university in Salford and then stayed in Manchester for about ten years, then Bristol, then London, and now work takes me all over too. EJ Was it when you were in university that you began acting or had you caught the bug earlier on?

EJ What was your first, I suppose, professional role then? SD I did a commercial for the University, actually, that was my first proper paid role in anything. I ended up getting an agent right off of that because one of the producers thought I could get more work. I ended up working while I was still a student and getting little parts in medical dramas and, just, loads of commercials. They always used to want me for commercials when I was that age ‘cause I had, like, pink hair and a nose ring so it filled the ‘quirky girl’ quota, I guess. EJ Oh, were they the kind of commercials where you have to pretend you can’t do a basic task without the product you have to sell? SD [laughing] Absolutely, yeah, I did so many. They were always fun though. And I got to travel all over the world to places like South Africa, Serbia, Barcelona, while being able to pay my rent so, I’m really grateful for those commercials. I’m very lucky I got to do all of that while still studying.

SD It was actually quite a cool one, to be honest. There was this Scandinavian director and he had this unique style and it felt more like a music video or something than one of those typical noughties videos. [pause]. I mean, that’s how I remember it, it might be absolutely mortifying to watch back now. EJ Cue a furious search on YouTube when you get home? SD Oh, for sure. I’d love to see it again, actually. EJ So, you say you liked acting in school plays and the like while you were growing up; do you ever remember what it was that really triggered an interest in doing that for you? Something you saw that made you go, ‘Oh I want to do this’? SD I loved movies. I’ve always loved watching films. When I was a kid, we had a small collection of VHSs that we used

to watch over and over. It was only about fifteen or so of my mum’s films, nothing all that surprising. They were a comfort for me, and I think that’s really what led to me having a silly little dream about performing. It was a secret private thing, wanting to act. In reality, I knew I wanted to work in the industry but I was always more vague. I made the choice to go to university and learn how it all works, how to make films, how to write them. While I was there, I was fortunate enough to discover that maybe I could make it as a performer as well…It ended up working out because now I’ve got the added knowledge as well. Write, direct, act. EJ A triple threat then? SD [laughs]. Totally. EJ Do you remember any of those films in your VHS collection? SD Oh, Grease, of course. Dirty Dancing. Pretty Woman. EJ Proper classics, then?

SD I actually really enjoyed acting in school plays…But I didn’t really know it was something that someone like me, where I’m from, could really do. I studied Media and Performance because I wanted to be in that world somehow and it felt like the most accessible way, really.

EJ And to get it off the back of one of those cheesy uni commercials, as well. That must have felt quite surreal?

"Shane Meadows really helped me realise that... films could be made in my city, with people in them who had my accent." SD You know it. I actually…Thinking about growing up in Nottingham, I remember watching Twenty Four Seven and A Room For Romeo Brass in school as part of a Media Studies class and realising they were shot in Nottingham. I think seeing them was what really…It made it seem possible, you know? Working behind or in front of the camera wasn’t just reserved for people from certain places. Films could be made in my city, with people in them who had my accent, and it wasn’t all just about Hollywood all the time. Shane Meadows really helped me, and probably a lot of other people, realise that. It blew my mind at that age and then I discovered more films set in Nottingham like, you know the classic old film Saturday Night, Sunday Morning? EJ Yeah, yeah. SD Well, I didn’t actually realise this until recently but I was talking to my granddad about it, saying how much I love it, and he turns to me and he says: ‘Oh yeah, I’m in that.’ EJ Wait, what? SD Yeah. I told him to stop being silly, thinking he’s just doing that funny thing granddads do but no. He’s literally in it. Basically, everyone in Nottingham, up to a certain point, worked at Raleigh, Boots, or Players and my granddad used to work at the old Raleigh factory making bikes. And so in Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, there’s a scene where they use the clock-off at Raleigh and everyone’s cycling out of the factory as part of a montage and, yeah, my granddad’s in that. He’s really proud of it even though he wasn’t paid a penny.

EJ Wow. SD I’ve actually got one of the original posters of the film framed in my house and, yeah, I’ve always loved that film. I can’t believe I never saw him in it until he pointed it out. EJ So, from Saturday Night and Shane Meadows, you get yourself into uni and you’re doing commercials, then you’re driving an ambulance around in Casualty, right? SD Pretty much. It was my first regular acting paycheque and it was…I was able to get a flat of my own from it, it was when I was really like, ‘Oh I’m doing it.’ EJ Did you ever have a false sense of grandeur where you thought you could be a medical person? SD Oh no, definitely not. I was blagging it completely. I had no idea what I was doing. EJ I remember reading an interview with [writer/actor/director] Emerald Fennell once, I think around Call The Midwife, and she’d said she had this ridiculous notion she could help a woman deliver a baby after being on the show for so long. SD See labour, maybe I could help in some way, because I’ve been through that - I know how it feels. But paramedics and nurses that’s…I don’t think any part of me could do any of that stuff. EJ But could you drive the ambulance though? SD Yes! I’ve still got the special licence to

be able to drive a three tonne vehicle so I’d be at the wheel, for sure. EJ Like Keanu Reeves and Speed? SD Exactly! EJ So after Casualty, you’re doing odd roles here and there and then…Flowers. SD That’s still one of the highlights of my career. For me, it’s such a really special show. Not only because Will [Sharpe], my husband, wrote it, but…We all put everything into it and it really felt like a family. We still, the cast and crew, have a Whatsapp chat, we still hang out. It was a very intense experience that made us all so close to each other. EJ You played Amy Flower, a musician struggling with bipolar, her sexuality, and the chaos of her family’s dynamics – her dad, Maurice [played by Julian Barrett], confides in her first out of the family about his suicide attempt at the beginning of the first season. How did you find creating this character with so much depth in such a wildly unique show? SD Amy was such a character. I don’t think there’s another way to put it. Before her, I was almost typecast with playing the quirky girl next door and, even with the best of intentions, those characters just never really have that much substance. Whereas Amy…yeah, she’s still a bit quirky but there’s reasons for it, you know? She’s got multitudes about her. She’s complicated. She’s in pain. She’s struggling in such a way that’s quiet but her actions are loud. I really felt able to flex my acting muscles and show what I could do with a character like that.

Sophia wears: Alexander McQueen belt and Novesta shoes.

Sophia wears: VINTAGE t-shirt.

" Every mistake I’ve ever made has always taught me more than if I’d done it perfectly. They’re a part of you, the mistakes, they’re your quirks and your humour and your anecdotes at parties. "

" Every mistake I’ve ever made has always

EJ And, I suppose, in that close knit environment, surrounded by people who are equally and genuinely passionate about the show, it’s a safe space to go further than you may have before? SD Yeah exactly. Olivia Colman, Julian Barrett, Danny Rigby, Dame Harriet Walter, and Will of course. They’re all so brilliant and they bring something out of you that you like to think stays in you even once the cameras are off. I’d love to do it all over again exactly as it was, experience it all over again. EJ Are there any of your projects that you’d want to revisit and change how you approached them? SD I don’t think so. I don’t have any regrets. Every mistake I’ve ever made has always taught me more than if I’d done it perfectly, you know? They’re a part of you, the mistakes, they’re your quirks and your humour and your anecdotes at parties. I’d rather go back and be a fly on the wall of those early commercials than do them again.

SD Yeah, I’m really drawn to characters that have that level of complexity but also a bit of a moral quandary. Like, oh they’re doing a terrible thing but maybe there’s a reason behind it. There’s a weight to their actions that isn’t entirely unjustifiable. Playing, or writing about, characters that have been left to survive on their own throughout these horrendous situations that’s left them in this sort of adrenaline fuelled mode where their fears come out in all sorts of ways from so angry to so upset to, you know, cracking jokes, it’s all about getting to explore the breadth of human responses. And I like a bit of mischief as well. EJ Do you find yourself drawn to the more chaotic characters? SD Absolutely. I enjoy chaotic people. I’m a bit of a control freak in my own life and keep myself on quite a tight leash so it’s a nice release to play characters who are a bit more chaotic in that sense. It’s nice to access characters who are different to yourself. And I’ve gotten to enjoy more physical work as well, like on-screen combat. EJ Oh yeah?

EJ So you’re the heavy-lifter around the house then? SD I mean, I lift my kids, lift my weights. It’s just really good for your mental health. Which everyone says but…Oh god, I’m sounding so boring now, aren’t I? EJ No, no. You’re good. It feeds into it though, doesn’t it? The training and acting?

then I’m able to just…say bye. I think most actors work on a sliding scale of method, it’s not as black and white as it’s sometimes made out to be. I have a lot of respect for those who are able to stay in character all day, but it’s not for me. I don’t feel the need to take a character home. When I’m at home, I’m a parent, a wife, a daughter, a friend, I’m just Soph. I enjoy hanging up my costume and being me. So, really, for me, it’s the best part of my job, being able to play these chaotic and complicated characters and then leave it all on set and come back to my little life. EJ One thing I’ve also noticed is that in certain, more recent roles, you’re keeping your own voice, aren’t you?

EJ So when you’re playing these complicated roles and really altering your physicality for them, do you find that you can sometimes take them home with you after a shoot? Or are you able to just wash it all away?

SD Yeah. Yeah. It’s nice because, in certain roles that I’ve been playing, it wouldn’t really sound right to have a proper RP accent. These characters are a bit rough around the edges, they wouldn’t speak with that intonation, that degree of harshness that comes with that accent sometimes. The way they talk is more than the dialogue and, in some contexts, my own accent reflects the world the character comes from more accurately. And it’s nice because it means that, maybe, I can do for others what films like Room For Romeo Brass and Saturday Night, Sunday Morning did for me back when I was younger.

SD I’m quite good at leaving work at work. I get it all out of my system on camera and

@itssophiadimartino

SD Yeah, you become much more aware of how you move. As an actor, you’re already quite co-ordinated in yourself but the training really helps with the physicality of everything.

EJ After playing Amy, did you find yourself wanting to continue to push yourself in the characters you played and the short films you were working on yourself?

SD Oh yeah. I was very unfit, especially after I just had my first baby. I was never really the kind of person who did any physical exercise anyway. I hated running. I hated the gym. But when I had to do it for work, it flipped something in me and then being a new mum, I wanted to be strong, you know? It changed the relationship I had with my body and now that I know how feeling strong feels, I try to keep up with it.

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MECHANICAL MAVERICKS WITH THE ‘ATLAS OF CAR DESIGN’ WORDS BETH BENNETT

Having had the opportunity to examine this book, we here at EJ have found ourselves falling utterly in love with the potted history of car design from some of the most handsome models to the some downright questionable developments. It’s a bible of Japanese cult classics, French art-deco masterpieces, Italian icons, British performance machines, and American sensations. I’ve found myself browsing it over breakfast, appraising craftsmanship of bygone eras, and finding myself, in some early morning nostalgia, remembering a childhood spent seeing cars like these at race tracks, car shows, and Sunday nights watching Top Gear with my dad. And that’s what these sorts of books are all about, isn’t it? Being able to bring you back to a moment in the past, both your own and in the wider world, and encouraging you to stop for just a moment…and breathe it all in. The Atlas of Car Design: The World’s Most Iconic Cars; By Jason Barlow; Published by Phaidon, £100 Phaidon.com

Jason Barlow and Guy Bird have pulled together a remarkable compendium of the world’s greatest car designs. Published by coffee table book kings Phaidon, The Atlas of Car Design is a bold book, inviting us to survey over six hundred of the most influential car aesthetics in the history of manufacturing. It’s comprehensive in information, beautiful in its design, and something that belongs on the shelf of all motor heads or industrial enthusiasts.

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY EVIE FRIAR The last album from Slaughter Beach, Dog was a solo writing and recording effort from lead singer Jake Ewald, in the midst of the pandemic. Flash forward to 2023; live music is alive and well and the band have just released their latest album Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling. Just five days after the album's release, the band touched down in Manchester to begin the UK leg of their 2023/24 tour. So we headed over, camera in tow, to see how their signature indie rock style plays out in person.

Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling is a suitable title for a Slaughter Beach, Dog album. It’s become the signature style of frontman Jake Ewald to write candidly, emotionally and with a specific flair for turning the mundane into magic with his lyrical prowess. The title elicits a montaged image of life’s extreme emotions balanced against everyday actions; the first two words capturing heightened moments in time, while the second two feel more passive and familiar. It’s a relatable, wistful name and one that fits perfectly with Ewald’s songwriting as it plays out across the album’s 10 tracks.

Slaughter Beach, Dog began as a solo project that has slowly grown into a fivepiece ensemble who deliver harmonious instrumentals while still allowing their frontman enough space to flex his creativity. The album in question is a shining example of this dynamic in practice. It opens on a laid back ballad – Surfin’ New Jersey – which tells a tale of surfing along the East Coast in an oddly meditative manner, illustrated by twangy guitar sounds, a steady drum groove and a chorus of distant humming. It's a warm, comforting welcome to the album and one that feels peaceful and optimistic.

Packed full of Americana imagery and reflective hooks, the band’s fifth studio album is perhaps the most sure of themselves they’ve ever sounded. A noticeable departure from Ewald’s former life in emo revival band Modern Baseball,

The tracks that follow are similar in tone, with the odd song straying to more unfamiliar territory but with consistent undertones of a lazy afternoon in sundappled light. The second track on the album, My Sister is Jesus Christ, is one that packs more of a punch, with some unexpected lyrics referencing BDSM and Gatorade, and a playful, rock-inspired beat that sets it apart from the other slower tracks. In fact, the album’s pace slows as each song passes, with the more contemplative of the list, Easter, playing us out. The nine-minute epic, titled Engine, is the major player of the last three songs and is perhaps, what can be considered as Ewald’s masterpiece so far. The song plays with a metaphor that imagines the speaker as part of a van, travelling across America, winding in and out of bars, woods and family parties; “Maybe I was the engine” is a realisation presented to us in the third line, before the final line “The truth is, I live to roll over,” sends us into a 4-minute-long roaring instrumental. It’s triumphant and affecting and just as good live as you hear it on the album. We had the pleasure of seeing Slaughter Beach, Dog live in Manchester just five

Album artwork courtesy of Lame-O Records

days after the release of Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling. With an impressive back catalogue, it was hard to imagine how they would structure their setlist and how many of the newer songs will have earned a prime spot in their live show. As the band set up their own equipment onstage, you could hear murmurs of requests being discussed throughout the crowd, the most requested being a reworked version of the Modern Baseball song Intersection. However, this unfortunately did not make the cut. Instead, they opened the show with two of their new hits, My Sister in Jesus Christ and Strange Weather, before diving into some older material, including songs such as Black Oak and the crowd pleasing Acolyte. Despite the majority of their set being made up of songs off the new record, the band’s encore entirely consisted of old favourites that feature Ewald’s spoken word style of performing. Their final song, 104 Degrees, saw their performance unravel gloriously. What was initially quite a tame show descended into an energetic onslaught of a jam session, where all awareness of the crowd seemed to disappear as Ewald, bassist Ian Farmer and guitarist Adam Meisterhans, fed off each others energy and, supported by drummer Zack Robbins and Logan Roth on keys, focused entirely on putting on a show. The most enjoyable aspect of the show, however, was witnessing the Manchester crowd enjoy these songs that had only been released five days prior, and, in turn, observing the band's reaction to the audience singing along. Stand out lines from the new album about My Chemical Romance t-shirts and "getting my groove on" were sung with enthusiasm and met with smiles from the band in response. It was a testament to Ewald as a songwriter and a celebration of live music at it's best; bringing together an audience of like-minded fans and a delivering a show that felt like catching up with old friends. A 10/10 from us.

Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling is out now. @slaughterbeachdog

WORDS BETH BENNETT

PHOTOGRAPHY MARK MANN

Martin Scorsese has always been America’s greatest cinema prophet. With his work behind the camera just as enduring and important as the silver screen stories he crafts, he has afforded America that which it struggled to have before, its own mythology. So now, as the director enters his twilight years we thought it was about time to appraise this lasting impact and explore Scorsese as the American Aristotle.

MARTIN SCORSESE AND THE CREATION OF THE AMERICAN MYTH

"WITH SCORSESE, THE HUMAN HONESTY HAS A MORE VIOLENT DREAD THAN A GUN TUCKED INTO THE TROUSER WAISTBAND."

1920s. Osage County, Oklahoma. The Great Plains of the American Midwest. A fountain of oil cracked decades earlier plants the beginnings of one of the biggest mass homicides in the land’s history. The Reign Of Terror ushered in with the brutal murders of eighteen Osage natives and three non-natives. As the Roaring Twenties screeches on, some sixty more murders are confirmed in the tribe lands. Bullets and poison spill Native blood. This blood returns to the soil, premature and as yet another tragedy, signalling another great silence — a purge of the land’s centuries that eradicates the true history of America, the one that existed for so long before the first boat’s bow hit Plymouth Rock. I begin here, inspired by the premise of Killers Of The Flower Moon to establish a sense of the vacuum around America’s storytelling history. For thousands of years before the pilgrim’s arrival, the Native Americans passed allegory, history, philosophy down through their oral tradition only. This tradition lasted generations and did not require certain social powers to engage, anyone could

reveal the truths of their tribe’s history. However, as the land was colonised and tribes extinguished as these New Americans made their laws and their advances out west, so did it mean that centuries of Native American mythology, folklore, and philosophies were too eradicated. Lost to history. The America we consider now is a completely new country, and with that brings about the understanding that, through the brutal murders of the Natives, America has lost any hope of an early history. There is a complete lack now of the country’s own mythology. Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar commented in a recent interview on this very matter. Talking of his own new film, a short of two cowboys with a complicated past, he stated that (paraphrased here, of course) unlike the Pantheons of Greek and Roman Gods, the myths and fables of their antics that made way for belief systems and a distinctive type of storytelling that these old countries were afforded, America didn’t have the luxury. Instead of fargone tales, America had the actions of

those some half a century earlier, those stories from the expansion out west, of the gold rush to the pacific. American’s Westerns are its mythology — that’s what Almodóvar believes; and while I understand his theory, the day after I heard him say this, I watched Taxi Driver for the first time in years. What this inspired in me was a sense of excitement, more so, a sense of understanding. For it was in this moment, as the pulsating neon lights of a seventies Times Square thrust perversely into the window of Travis Bickle’s yellow taxi cab, that I realised that if the Western was America’s mythology, or rather America’s Old Testament, then there was something to be said about how the films of Martin Scorsese could very well be the New. Speaking frankly, Scorsese’s films are as distinctive as they are full of life. Though elements of his direction may shift between picture in accordance to the demands of the story, there is always a sense of reportage that accompanies them; as though we’re peering into a person’s life, seeing the good the bad and the ugly even if — and we must always remember the

"WITH SCORSESE, THE HUMAN HONESTY HAS A MORE VIOLENT

Imagery courtesy of Film Grab camera pulling away from DeNiro’s Travis Bickle in that intimate phone call — we’re not always shown everything, we hear it or we are directed so far as to infer it for ourselves. And when we are shown everything, like the blistering monologue of the estranged Rupert Pupkin in The King Of Comedy, it’s an overexposure that feels somewhat disingenuous to sane folk so it becomes sickening in viewing it. With Scorsese, the human honesty has a more violent dread than a gun tucked into the trouser waistband. This is especially true if we consider his more biographical features. In this regard, I mean the films that are inspired by where he grew up, Little Italy in the fifties, and how he grew up, watching his friends succumb to the lavish violence of organised crime. The element of personality in these films is almost numinous is that regard, and it’s easy to see why.

When talking about his acclaimed Goodfellas, Scorsese often remarks that there are no real main characters within

that script, instead the main character is The Underworld itself; he likens it to Dante’s Inferno with us audience members taking on the role of the poet whilst Ray Liotta’s Henry is Virgil, guiding us through the layers of it all. There are lessons to be learned in Scorsese’s films though they’re not always the ones we want to know. The world is a good place for terrible people and a terrible place for good people. There’s a fine line between duty and honour. And Death is inevitable so find your place and experience life as best you can. The Underworld exuberance of Goodfellas is not unlike that of the Greeks either, we’re drawn down the River Styx in Henry’s Cadillac the same way we find ourselves guided through the Mafia in The Irishman with DeNiro’s Frank Sheeran’s drawl and Al Pacino’s wild gesticulations as Jimmy Hoffa. In some ways, The Irishman feels the most biblical of his Underworld movies. A three and a half hour epic, using the best of modern technology, to unveil the story of a lost Irish son finding family in the Italian organised crime gangs. A mercenary to

some, a friend to others. There are heroes who are villains and villains who are heroes and there’s a weighted sense of morality that hangs in the green hues of the America Scorsese builds here. I Heard You Paint Houses — Scorsese’s preferred title and that of the book the story comes from — is told as Frank Sheeran’s truth, his penance and confession in the last few days before he dies. Much like Raging Bull’s Jake LaMotta, Frank was not a good person but in the end he finds a peace in himself that we all inherently crave. And all in all, is that not the parable of America itself? Does America not crave peace as it continues to ignore the humiliation of a confession that can bring that about? In Greek mythology, we learn from the Gods before us that icons of our past are flawed and not to be worshipped, but to learn from. The actions of the Gods are not gospel like in Christian law, they are faults that we must treat as a guide on how not to be. Isn’t that, with so many pictures under his belt now, what Scorsese has been searching for in each film? The flawed anti-hero who makes his own life harder,

who struggles to find peace until his last few breaths. It’s Scorsese’s premise, not to simply tell stories but to teach us lessons. And this is why I’ve chosen to call him Aristotle and not Homer or Sophocles or Euripides. This is Scorsese likened to the author of Politics, or Rhetoric, and of Poetics. Because when we look beyond the camera, to the work also done in solidifying the very foundations of cinema. Scorsese works across disciplines, yes on camera we understand his themes of duty, honour, Catholic guilt, and the violence of the American Dream; but when we look beyond, when we see the work put into the preservation and tutelage of international cinema to the masses, and to understanding the choices we have to make our life a good one, it becomes apparent that Scorsese exists as more than a filmmaker, than a playwright, he’s a teacher. He’s The Great American philosopher. Martin Scorsese’s latest feature Killers Of The Flower Moon will release worldwide in cinemas on October 20th.

PETTICOATS TO TRENCHCOATS: A CAREER OF COMEDY AND TRAGEDY WITH GEMMA WHELAN 72

WORDS & INTERVIEW BETH BENNETT PHOTOGRAPHY BETH BENNETT

On a quiet Thursday morning in the middle of filming the third season of crime drama hit The Tower, Gemma Whelan invited us to her rental flat along the foggy Liverpool docks to get frank about her career so far. Known for her steps in Game Of Thrones, Killing Eve, and Gentleman Jack — to name just a few — Gemma doesn’t let that impose at all, rather making her one of the loveliest people to have tea, biscuits, and a natter with. We were also joined by her son, Freddie, who preoccupied himself with videos of ambulance sirens and diggers before giving me a helping hand with some portrait photos. EJ Did you ever think you’d be spending so much time watching videos of diggers?

EJ Maybe he’ll get really into stunts like Tom Cruise in the latest Mission Impossible.

GW You know, I thought it might be a possibility but we never pushed it. With my daughter, we were all about raising her really gender-neutral and letting her be whoever she wants to be. Let’s get dinosaurs. Let's get diggers. But she’s all about the princesses and rainbows and unicorns. And this little guy, he’s just obsessed with vehicles.

GW Oh it’s so interesting, stuff like that. How it’s all engineered, seeing the work and time that goes into these stunts. The respect I have for the crew that plan it all so meticulously for, in some instances, years and all the work they put into those finite details…

EJ So there’ll be monster trucks in your future then? GW Actually we went to the beach the other day and saw these quad bikes which blew his mind. And a helicopter too.

EJ Would you ever do your own stunts like that? GW I think I used to be quite gung ho about it like, ‘Of course, I’ll try anything.’ Whereas now, I’m very much appreciative of the help from the stunt doubles. I’m fit, I love running, I think there’s a few I definitely could do but it’s not my job.

74 There are people properly trained to do all the extreme stuff, I think I’ll leave it to them. EJ Is it easy for you to share a role like that? Obviously the stunt doubles aren’t doing the character acting to the level that you are but I’ve heard some actors can be quite protective of their roles, the more method they are. GW Oh not at all. Like I said, it’s a necessity and they’re expertly trained. I’m not a method actor by any stretch, I leave work at work. There’s been some roles that are quite consuming and then a lot to get over but I’ve never really been at the point were I couldn’t shake them off. I’d think I’d be concerned if that was the case. Sometimes with accents, in between takes, it’s easier to keep in them, it’s what makes them feel more lived in — I always think of Martin Freeman in The Responder, especially being in Liverpool at the moment. He’s not doing an impersonation of a Scouser, it’s really authentic. EJ How was it for you working in historical dramas, or fantasy historical dramas, like Gentleman Jack and Game of Thrones?

Did you find you had to adopt a certain way to behave between takes to feel you were presenting a bit more authentic? GW Honestly, no. For period dramas, the costumes and the words do a lot of the heavy lifting. When the writing is so good but also so much different than the modern way of speaking, and then these costumes that are perfectly engineered to fit you in this setting, the character feels more natural than anything. Not to undermine the role of the actor, of course, but there’s a playful enjoyment that comes with the pantomime of those kinds of things that, for me at least, end up being more authentic when I’m not caught up trying to overthink it. EJ Would you say they were some of your favourite roles then? GW Oh I’ve loved them all for different reasons, they’re all a part of me but I do always miss going to Game of Thrones because the rhythm of my year became such as going to Belfast and meeting up over there. We were like a family. And Gentleman Jack as well, I was really sorry that didn’t go ahead for a third season.

It just had such a fantastic community of largely brilliant women. And Marian was such a great character to play with because of how it would move between comedy and drama; there was a great fun to her but also a gentle tragedy. It was also fun to play a real person for once. Ultimately though, I miss all jobs immediately, to be honest — you never expect them to continue so when they do, you get into a routine with the community of it and then…it’s just over one day. EJ Did you expect The Tower to come back for its, recently aired, second season? And even now, you’re filming the third — were you shocked or more quietly confident in it? GW I suppose, with things in this industry, you never hope too loudly but with the quality of the writing and having Patrick Harbinson as an executive, I thought we were in with a pretty decent chance. And the book series that the show is based on is quite long, there’s quite a bit of story there still left to bring to life. So, looking at it and how well the first season was received, we thought we stood a chance. But for the third season, we snagged an early renewal

PHOTOGRAPHY » FREDDIE HOWELL, AGED 2

which is pretty much unheard of these days — ITV’s slate was overpopulated — and so by the time season two was released a few weeks ago, we were halfway through filming the third season. And I don’t think there’s been any doubt really. We were up against a new show on the BBC with Ruth Wilson, The Woman In The Wall, which is truly a fantastic, terrifying series; but we were still getting a good amount of viewership too which proves that the want for the material is there.

GW I don’t really know. I suppose I’m a familiar face from Game of Thrones and Patrick’s obviously well known from Homeland and 24. Maybe it’s those familiar names that provide the jumping off points for people and then when they’re watching it, they’re realising, ‘Oh this is good’. EJ It’s quite a small story too, isn’t it? Comparable to Line of Duty that was a big complicated corruption series, The Tower really concerns itself with these actual detectives much more and it’s more of a day-to-day presentation. GW Yeah, I think it’s the questions that it brings up as well about right and wrong and greater morality. Every character within the series has a really valid point. My character, Sarah, is very down the line with her moral compass, she’s as straight as an arrow. But then Hadley is much more about acting first then dealing with the questions later - he’s not going to wait for paperwork to breakdown a door and save someone’s life. Every character has a point. So I think there’s a truth in The Tower that allows it to have a greater international appeal, it’s not concerned with finding an

I remember we were having a tour of some former holding cells that are now mostly used for filming and we were being shown around by someone who used to train new police officers. He explained that one of the scenarios they use is: there’s a woman called in, and she’s said that she’s been attacked by a man in her own home but she’s been able to escape and gives you her address. Obviously, as a police trainee, you go in, hopefully find the man still there, and arrest him. And it made me think about the cognitive dissonance when you’re watching shows like The Tower at home, versus what the characters or the actual police do in these situations. EJ A bit like watching a horror movie? GW Exactly. I used to think that if anyone ever broke into my room, I’d whack them over the head with a rolling pin or hit them with a pair of scissors or something. But in reality... One night when I was younger, my brother climbed up to my bedroom window once and I all I did was sit up and quietly say, ‘Go away, go away’. Like none of the screaming and attacking I thought I’d do. EJ But after all these years of acting and in being police dramas and violent bloody shows, do you think you’d have a different reaction? GW Well, I’m a mum now too so I think I’d have a bit of protectiveness about my children but I can’t say for sure. Maybe I’ll remember some sword tricks. [laughs]. @gemwhelan

EJ What’s interesting is that the British police detective drama is pretty much a staple of our television experience but they don’t often translate or export all that well over to other countries, whereas The Tower was really, really well received in The States, Canada, Australia. Why do you think that is?

answer to these complicated questions but showing the arguments that can surround them. You can understand why someone does something, and it’s almost an exercise in your own morality in that moment too, about whether you do what is right or do what is good. The audience is able to engage in questions in a world that they wouldn’t usually have access to.

76 WORDS & INTERVIEW BETH BENNETT

He’s the magical man from Happyland! Glasgow based artist David Cooper is known for his distinctive style, pop culture themes, and - of course - his interpretation of the existential nightmare of living in a prolific cartoon sitcom; so as we looked into an issue that tackled the mythos of American identity, who else could we call but the guy trying to make sense of Springfield?

EJ I think I'm right in saying that most people, like us, will have come across your work through your mammoth task of drawing every single character that's featured in The Simpsons – all speaking characters across the 35 seasons and even some more. Can you start by really explaining what led you to tackling this? DC A couple of years ago I got into a groove of doing a few pieces based on The Simpsons, the kind of meta aspect of how outside influences impact the show and vice versa. People seemed to really enjoy it so expanding it into a full regular series of drawings felt natural, and it's been a really fun way to examine a cultural monolith in minute detail. I kind of love the fact that I get to give these random nobodies who have less than 2 seconds of screentime

78 a time to shine! I think people like the underdogs getting a moment. So much of my art has been earnestly committing to really silly long-term ideas, it's fun. EJ Your style is gloriously distinctive, you don't mirror what the animators have done, instead choosing to use your own interpretation of the characters and a watercolour medium, can you talk a little about how you came to find your style? DC Many many years of experimentation. I come from comic books, where people have a specific idea of how things should look - bold muscly figures, big black outlines - but the more you delve into that medium the more variety you see in how people stylise their work. So I sort of came from this starting point of linear work, then softened it to the area I've settled into, with muted colours and watery lines. I do "real" watercolours as well, but a lot of the digital stuff I do is this kind of fake watercolour effect too.

EJ Do you find it difficult sometimes to translate the distinctiveness of The Simpsons characters into your own style? How do you make sure that they're still true to themselves whilst looking different to what people are used to? DC I think I found it more difficult at first. Trying to figure out where the show's style ended and I began was a learning curve, but having done over 200 characters I can definitely now say, "That's how they draw this; that's not how I draw it." The eyes are a big one, sometimes people don't like the wee beady eyes I draw, but doing an exact recreation of the show seems pointless to me. EJ I have to ask, as a side, about your profoundly poetic piece on Lenny; how did you come up with that? DC It's fun to think about the reality of fictional characters sometimes, how they've existed in an unchanged form for so long.

It's like with comic books, these characters are supposed to be the same people that they were decades ago, but the longer you think about it the less sense it makes. I saw it as uplifting in a way - poor Lenny has to be the same forever, but real people can grow and change and evolve. Sadly, most people only saw it from poor Lenny's perspective. EJ Did you expect these drawings to become as prolific as they have? DC Absolutely not. I've been making weird fun stuff on the internet for years in obscurity, I never expect anyone to like anything I make. It's only the last couple of years that people have taken any notice, and even then there are things I make and draw that no-one pays any attention to. I learned a while ago that creative satisfaction for myself is most important, I'd rather have a drawing with three likes on Instagram than a mega-hit piece that I'm personally not happy with, so how "prolific"

a piece is has become less important to me. Maybe that's just a self-defence mechanism to protect my ego when no-one likes a drawing, I don't know. EJ You're also currently working on a 'Sparks-tember' challenge wherein you're drawing a new image for a song by the band Sparks every day - why are you drawn to these drawing challenges? DC I've done a few drawing challenges that force me to make something every day, and I've found them very useful. They say the best way to improve is to practice, and having a structure like that means that no matter what happens, I will draw that day, and the longer they go, the more commitment there is to completing it. I did a project a couple of years ago where I drew a panel of an ongoing comic every single day that lasted 930 consecutive days, and while I can't say that every single panel was a masterpiece, it was all valuable

experience. The Simpsons character project is kind of similar - no matter how I'm feeling, these characters come out on a schedule, so I'd better get them done. It's a good way to ensure the train keeps rolling. EJ How do you stay motivated throughout the process of tackling art challenges? What's your secret to coping with creative fatigue? DC I have become quite good at powering through the initial slump that I think most creative people have. There's no good way to ease myself, I just have to sit down with a pencil and get started. Often those first five minutes suck, but most of the time I'll get into the zone soon enough. Most of my time is spent looking after my kids, so my limited time to be creative is very valuable to me. It's like, "Right, I have one hour before I pick my son up, I'd better make the most of it by drawing." Not that I recommend having kids as a way to boost your productivity.

EJ Outside of The Simpsons and Sparks, what are your aspirations for your art? DC I'm trying to work on more things that aren't based on pre-existing media. A lot of my work the last couple of years has been reinterpretation of film and TV, filtered though my own lens as it were, as that's a lot of what I enjoy. But I'm focussing more on creating something from scratch. It won't "perform" as well on social media, but it's fun to explore other creative avenues. EJ Finally, do you have a favourite piece? DC There's this piece I did shortly before I did my wee Lenny comic, it's a robot deer thing. It was half a piece about nature adapting, and half a piece that was just cool because robots are cool. It was the first time in a while I'd made something that I was that proud of, it really felt like a turning point for me. I don't think it's anyone's favourite piece of mine, but it'll always be special to me.

79 @davidbcooper patreon.com/davidbcooper

COLUMN

CATCHING UP DOESN'T MATTER AFTER ALL

WORDS

EMMY HALLAHAN

@emmyhallahan Emmy is a writer - if you ask her on a good day. Mostly, this writing just consists of devouring books like they’re about to be rationed, and the only writing that gets done is tweets. She’s currently based in Liverpool - moved for the promise of a cheaper night out.

COLUMN

Then the class discussed falling asleep without feeling you had forgotten to do something else— something important—and how to believe the house you wake in is your home. - Brad Aaron Modlin, What You Missed That Day You Were Absent From Fourth Grade

There’s a poem that makes me feel a little bit sick. Not in a bad way, but in a way that still churns my stomach. It’s about feeling out of place, and out of space. There’s something missing and nobody told you about it, or what it is. Like everybody else learned how to do something, and they’re sprinting ahead and you tripped over your laces on the starting line.

Maybe, though, everyone else feels this way. The author of this poem certainly does. When did everyone else learn their place, and where they should end up? Do they not all feel as hopeless as I do? Is everything just a façade? Who knows, but, hey, if you’re feeling behind … I guess I’ll see you at the finish line. Wait, doesn’t this all sound a bit familiar?

That’s how this time of year feels for me, and I’m sure for many of us. Time is passing, the inevitable heat death of the universe is nearly upon us - and sooner than that, the end of the year. I’m not old, by any means (in fact, I believe I’m currently the youngest of the EJ contributors), but that doesn’t mean I don’t get caught in my own existential malaise from time to time. The year is running away from us yet again. The leaves fall, and with them, the ease with which I respond to the passage of time in the summer. In July, the fleeting months are met with an exclamation of ‘it’s now already’, but there’s an undertone of excitement. We did it, we survived the long hard months of winter, and whatever miserable excuse for spring that we have these days, and now we can bask in the all too rare glimpses of sun.

The year is ending, and it’s hard to remember sometimes that not everything ends with it. The things I’ve done this year will still count next year. The friends I’ve made, the places I’ve been. It’s not a race to the end of time, but it feels like it might as well be. Everyone seems to be doing better than I am. People I went to school with have real jobs, they’re not working three different part time jobs and hoping it adds up to the right amount. They have life plans, savings, goals for the future. I’ve spent so much of my life running away from anything that screams ‘STRUCTURE’ and ‘PERMANENT’ in big shiny capital letters, that I can’t help but feel like I’ve missed out somewhere along the way.

ES SENT IAL PANTRY Welcome to the Essential Pantry, a place for some of the very best chefs to place their favourite ingredients and a recipe around them.

ROBERTA HALL MCCARRON

HAM, LEEK &

SMOKED HAM HOCK, LEEK AND WHOLEGRAIN MUSTARD PIE Roberta Hall McCaron gets us autumn ready with her homely, rough puff pie. INGREDIENTS Pastry 500g plain flour 250g salted butter – cold and diced small 50g egg yolk 30g milk 80g water Smoked ham hock, leek and mustard filling (can be made a day in advance) 2 smoked ham hocks 3 carrots – peeled, cut into approx. 5cm pieces 1 onion – peeled cut into 4 pieces 1 leek – separate the green and white - cut the green into 5cm pieces, put the white to one side for later. 5 black peppercorns 1 bunch of thyme 2 tbsp whole grain mustard 30g plain flour 30g butter 400ml smoked ham hock stock 50ml cream 40g parsley – picked and chopped small 40g egg yolk METHOD

Add in the milk, water and egg, mix until it just starts to come together and then finish by hand until everything is fully incorporated. Divide into 3 pieces – 1 x 200g 1 x 100g 1 x 350g Wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours – this can be made a day in advance. Smoked ham hock, leek and mustard filling Cover the ham hocks with cold water, and bring to the boil. Skim off any impurities that rise to the top. Add in the cut carrots, onion, green leek, thyme and peppercorns.

Quarter the leek lengthways (washing if necessary) remove the outer layer, slice the quarters into 1cm pieces.

WORDS BY ROBERTA HALL MCCARRON PHOTOGRAPHY SOLLIP

Sweat the leeks in a little butter, until softened. Allow to cool, then mix into the ham, add the mustard and mix in. Melt the butter, add in the flour and cook gently stirring regularly for approx. 10 mins. Gradually start adding the ham hock stock, whisking continuously. Finish by adding in the cream. Pour some of the ham hock sauce into the ham hock mix and stir until fully incorporated. Keep adding the sauce until all of the meat is coated, but it’s not too liquid. Add in the chopped parsley. Using a 6“ pie or cake tin, line it with two layers of cling film – allow for extra to go over the sides. Pour the mix into the lined tin, and flatten, then fold over the cling film. Place in the fridge to firm up for approx. 3-4 hours Roll out your pastry to 3mm thickness Cut your base from the 200g piece of pastry – cut a 8”diameter circle and place on top of a piece of greaseproof paper, then place on to a tray.

Pastry Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the flour and butter together until fully incorporated, and you can no longer see any pieces of butter, but don’t overmix as your dough will become difficult to work with.

Once the ham hocks have cooled down, pick the meat removing any bone, sinew or tough fat. Pick it down into small pieces.

Cut your top from the 350g piece of pastry – cut a 11 ½ “ diameter circle. Using the last piece for any decoration on top. Brush the base pastry with egg yolk, unwrap the ham mix and place on top in the centre. Place the larger piece of pastry over the top of the ham mix- use your hands to mould the pastry around it. Using the 8”ring cut the pastry edge to neaten and even up the rim- you still want an excess of approx. 2cm that you can crimp. Brush the whole pie with egg wash. Using your thumb, push the pastry edge in – do this the whole way round, leaving approx. 2cm in between each crimp. In the centre of the pie pierce a 1cm round hole (so you can place a tinfoil chimney in it) With the extra pastry, you can cut various shapes and garnish the top as you like, brush any extra pastry with egg wash. Bake for 40 mins at 180°C.

Gently simmer until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. Remove the ham from the pot and pass the stock through a sieve into another container – don’t throw it away! @thelittlechartoon

WORDS CAL SMITH

ILLUSTRATION EVIE FRIAR

Diners, or American Diners to you and I, are quintessentially American spaces, sustaining an American way of life and oft a backdrop to an enduring, but still very much alive, American dream. Every man for themselves but it’s there for you if you work hard enough.

Diners exude a timeless aura and consistency for many, but maybe more in memoriam than reality. The poster boy diners of New York’s Barbetta and alike still stand tall but are a far-flung dream from your highway truck stop. My little, but still existent, experience of the two gave stark comparisons of spaces with the same namesake. Barbetta, much like Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks’, offers a pristine glimpse into a clean avuncular watering hole, there to serve those looking for a night-cap or a nostalgic breakfast. In contrast, the off-thebeaten-track option, see Thelma and Louise or James Dean’s Giant, offers the same, but with a grimier, undusted nuance, located in

Perhaps there is no comparison, where in the UK can partygoers, deliverymen (or women), tradespeople, City bankers and downtrodden drifters all culminate at any one point? Little Chef? That died a swift death by the turn of the century. The Diner flies the flag for the inclusive, an inclusive which in any other setting would seem downright bizarre. A judgement-free flag for any walk of life where perhaps the only similarity is the products they wish to consume. A space for thought (happy or sad), a breakup, a coffee, a hangover, an escape, a dream, a gaze into the distance, a million-dollar idea, the list goes on. The purpose of the visit may change but the need remains the same. A transitional

space where all walks of life converge. Be it an eerie liminal space or a vibrant strip-lit dental surgery-esc environment. If there is ever an example of a space like this and people’s want for it, it is McDonald's, the world’s largest restaurant chain that lives and breathes the tried and tested product of a diner; Or even the near neverending list of diners across America, IHOP, Denny’s, Wendy’s, etc. It may have evolved over time but the concept is there, the consistency and altogether familiar tones are recognised the world over. This is what the masses want, a space which is known, habitual and even loved. It can be argued otherwise but would it be so popular if that wasn’t the case? I would stake a bet, given the choice people would choose to go to the familiarity of these places tenfold over Michelin-star dining and the unknowns that entails. Americana lives strong in the fabric of the American appeal for many, the diner typifies this. Hasn’t everyone at some point wanted to be the Desert Eagle-wielding, faux Bible-quoting Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction stopping the deranged diner stickup of Pumpkin and Honey Bunny? Maybe just me. However, this iconic piece of cinema does, if anything, point toward the symbolism, flexibility and diversity of the American diner in the mind's eye of the average Joe. A place where strangeness and normality co-exist. If anything, it feels like a place far from home but one which is a far sight more interesting than any lay-by Cafe I’ve ever been served a searingly hot cup of tea and 99p burger. Perhaps we need more of this in our lives.

In the world of cultural in-betweenness of the US and UK, American Diners stand as veritable emblems of a bygone era, preserving a unique slice of Americana that transcends time and trend. With positioning as transitional spaces, their potential for observational reflection, and as a symbol in art and literature it is rarely underused. The Diner serves as a space for reminiscence and clarity in the American psyche, a familiar surrounding and much more existentially, as a social metaphor. However, we Brits find them synonymous with idealistic 1950s America, fast food and a setting for Greasers to square up with Socs. Frankly, an altogether sexier version of the industrial estate Cafe.

the places between places. A reminiscence of jukeboxes played, hamburgers eaten and white-noise static TVs. The decor was once the same but is now tired, waning, chipped and shit, burnt, filter coffee stained. Through the Atlantic-looking glass, this seems characteristic of a larger America where peripheries stride forward, whilst its core may seem forgotten. A characteristic never willingly forgotten by the righthand ‘MAGA’ voting side of America. Nevertheless, the American dream still flickers here and in contrast, a feeling which doesn’t exist in the UK. Matty’s Cafe next to the Screwfix in the industrial park just off junction five on the M23 hasn’t changed, the purpose is still there and has perhaps always been dirty and questionable, timeless in another form. Our culture has been replaced with European preferences of Italian coffee drinking and French patisseries. Not a negative, but certainly a difference in holding onto a sepia-toned version of the original ideal. If it ever was an ideal.

WORDS & INTERVIEW GEORGIA MOORE

Six months after opening, Woven - a cosy, luxurious restaurant in Coworth Park - received a Michelin Star. From the outset, it’s almost impossible to ignore why. With the freedom to direct your own dining story alongside an artfully produced display of tasting menus, Woven stands out as a sophisticated, conscientious experience. To find out more about this exceptional feat, we sat down with Head Chef Adam Smith and discovered the freedom in the familiar… EJ At Woven, storytelling is at the heart of everything. How would you describe your ability to adapt the story when it comes to seasonal produce and availability of ingredients for your menu?

EJ I mean, just hearing you speak I can see why you’ve been awarded a Michelin Star only six months into opening. Like you said, it’s not just about the food, it’s also about training your staff, and the dedication of everyone involved to provide excellent service all around. AS Yes, that’s what it’s really all about: guest experience. When I was given the opportunity to conceptualise the restaurant, we wanted it to give people that wow factor and for them to walk away happy. I mean, gone are the days when chefs, as stubborn as we can be, cook in our little stainless-steel box thinking everything revolves around us, and that the food we put on the table is the end of the world. The truth is that we want guests to have a good experience from the minute they walk in - everything they touch, see, smell, and how they feel when they leave after having a great experience.

AS We try to control the availability of products we can use. We tend to use products grown on the estate, which means it’s all or nothing. It’s either there, or not there and when it’s there, there’s too much of it, so we come up with ways to preserve it for future weeks or months. For example, when we get elderflower in, we make lots of vinegar, syrups, and infusions with it and then we store it. As we go through the year, we’ve always got that stored and ready to use. When the spruce tips were in season, we made some lovely spruce tip vinegar which was used on the lamb dish through the summer, and I’m considering using it on our fallow deer dish as well. The joy of being hyper seasonal is the variation, creativity, and adaptability in our dishes, but at the same time we have to be somewhat structured with our menu when it comes to training staff and making sure everyone is well-informed about each of

our dishes to provide a good experience for guests. We need to balance how seasonality dictates us in order to retain a little bit of structure for practicality.

"To consistently meet and exceed expectations is a challenge, but one that we relish in."

Of course the food is a major part of that, but it’s also important that they are met with a friendly smile and have a positive and memorable interaction. EJ Yes, I suppose there is that stereotypical image of that luxury dining experience. You know, the grumpy chef in the kitchen, the waiter in the waistcoat and dickie bow, and the polished silver? AS I believe that top end luxury dining experiences are not just about the hard skills anymore, like you said it’s not just about the polished silver, and the waiter in the waistcoat, it’s about the soft skills too. Like how we make people feel, being genuine, and helpful. Our guests come here for an experience, and it’s our job to make them feel comfortable and hopefully not just meet their expectations but exceed them. To consistently meet and exceed expectations is a challenge, but one that we relish in. This industry is a labour of love, you have to really enjoy it, and we have that drive to be constantly evolving. It’s an intense job, but there is no greater reward than watching people walk out of your restaurant feeling wowed by it.

"The inspiration is freedom and wanting to make people happy."

EJ From the way you talk about it, it seems as though you really try to cultivate a positive atmosphere for everyone involved, not just the guests but the staff too. AS Life’s too short to be grumpy and miserable all of the time. We have as much drive, passion, and discipline in what we do as anyone else, and it shows in our achievements so far, but I genuinely believe that if people enjoy what they do, then you’ll get a better product. It’s about creating an environment people like being in. EJ Can you tell us a little about your journey from working in a local pub, to opening this restaurant. AS Yeah, so my first job was in a small pub where I started washing up for some extra cash over the summer. I initially had plans to go into law, but I fell in love with the kitchen. At first it wasn’t really about the food to be totally honest, I liked the atmosphere and the comradery of the kitchen. Then when I was in college, I got an opportunity to go to London and work at the Ritz, where I fell in love with the craft of cooking luxury cuisines. After

ten years at the Ritz, I decided to take my first head chef job at the Devonshire Arms in Bolton-Abbey, Yorkshire. I’d gone from being number two in a brigade of 65 chefs, to head chef to a brigade of 8, which was a massive learning curve, but it was great. When I wanted to move back down south, I wanted a blend of the 5-star standards and structures of the Ritz, but somewhere smaller where I could be more hands on. Coworth Park was a perfect blend of both these things, and I started there in 2016. During the Covid-19 lockdown, with plenty of time to think, I decided to “release the shackles” so to speak, and with the belief and support from the general manager of Coworth Park, I was able to open Woven. We were awarded a new Michelin star not long after opening.

certain menu structure because that was expected. So with the reopening, I came up with a menu concept that suits us. The first part of our menu is set, similar to a tasting menu. In the middle of the menu guests have a choice of starters, mains, and desserts – as I think choice is an important part of the experience – and the back end has more various set menus. It’s hard to put what we cook into a box. We have a diverse team that bring with them different skills and experiences, who are inspired by different things. If we like a dish, we see how it works for our restaurant for guests to enjoy. The inspiration is freedom and wanting to make people happy.

EJ What inspiration did you draw from to conceptualise the menu? AS I suppose one of the things I was frustrated with before we reopened was that I thought we were deemed a hotel restaurant, and in my head because I thought we were seen as that I thought we had to do things a certain way and have a

@chefadamsmith Woven by Adam Smith can be found at the Dorchester Collection Hotel at Coworth Park.

WORDS BETH BENNETT

The Refuge at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel sits proudly on Manchester’s Oxford Street, nestled firmly in the bustling metropolis of the Northern capital. Only across the way, in our neighbouring city, we’ve walked past this behemoth of a building so many times, yet on an oddly blistery Saturday in August, we finally went inside… The Kimpton itself is a testament of the architectural innovation of the city’s industrial era, with that bright red brick encasing a stone and marble interior that oozes the expense one expects of a five-star hotel. But The Refuge is the Clocktower’s most astounding asset by far. The setting allows you a transient experience in itself, with the food being the metaphorical pot of gold at the end of this industrial rainbow. The Refuge’s menu boasts a collection of indulgent small plates from the 8oz Sirloin that melts in your mouth to the Hispi cabbage with soy and miso that is wonderfully moreish. A cross-cultural experience, you truly do feel as though you’re experiencing Manchester’s past in your mouth, back with ships ushering from Europe, The Far East, and The Americas down that infamous canal. Yet it remains modern and inventive in it’s delivery, a true rendition of nostalgia-informed excellence. One thing’s for certain, we’ll certainly be finding refuge here again. @therefugemcr

FOSTERING THE NEXT BARISTA HEROES Having grown up in hospitality, from her parents' hotel in Brittany, France, to Michelin-starred restaurants, Coffea Arabica founder Daisy Rollo lives for quality. Her travels to remote coffee farms have deepened her commitment to sharing knowledge and fostering barista excellence. We sat down to chat with Daisy ahead of La Marzocco's Barista Hero announcement to understand how baristas, not dissimilar to sommeliers, play a pivotal role in elevating the coffee experience, reflecting a profound appreciation for both the product and its people. WORDS THOMAS SUMNER & DAISY ROLLO

FOSTER THE NEX BARIST HEROES

IMAGERY COURTESY OF COFFEA ARABICA

EJ Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about what you do at Coffea Arabica?

My love for front-of-house followed on from working in Michelin starred restaurants to working in one of the first independent cafes in Bristol where I became general manager of it’s three shops, looking after training and development. Three years later, I created Coffea Arabica with a vision for quality, looking at teaching, consulting and delivering mobile speciality coffee bars at events focusing on great coffee and customer service. Opening books on coffee, looking at it’s history, geography, production, processing methods and people involved, really ignited a passion in me. This beautiful beverage we all love so much and consue in large quantities all other the world was suddenly making me want to know more about it! I started Coffea Arabica working as a freelancer for a speciality coffee roaster based in London. I also started working with

I really enjoy having two parts to my business. Teaching, to help people succeed in their coffee journey, and delivering speciality bars at events, which keeps me involved in the hospitality sector I love so much. My passion has now taken me to coffee plantations all around the world including Costa Rica, India, Ethiopia, Panama, Vietnam and Cuba. I have made it my mission to share my knowledge and savoir faire with my team and my customers. EJ You mentioned that you have experience with the whole journey of coffee, from farm to consumer. What is the importance of the barista in this journey? DR After visiting the plantations and witnessing all areas of speciality coffee at source - from neutering the plant through to picking, processing, sorting and exporting and seeing so many people working hard to deliver the best and being paid a fair price for it.

A well trained barista with a natural passion for quality will demonstrate care for the product, and the work involved by so many people in it’s production and it’s service. Today, baristas have access to quality coffees from all around the world. This means that they can expand their knowledge on sensory skills, geography, history etc. Cupping events are often organised by different roasters, and there are many coffee shows where you can meet farmers and other coffee professionals to learn from. To me, the importance of a professional barista in the coffee's journey is similar to a sommelier opening a bottle of wine. The barista will fine tune their equipment in order to showcase the coffee, delivering the essence of quality and showcasing the work done on plantation. EJ Why do you think it's important to recognise baristas? DR I think it is important to recognise baristas as they are there to not only make your coffee experience a pleasure but they also work really hard multitasking, being an approachable and considerate individual. They are welcoming, hospitable, engaging and discreet, all while having key product knowledge and an understanding of speed of service, delivering quality with consistency.

DR I founded Coffea Arabica in November 2002, 20 years ago. I grew up living and breathing hospitality at my family’s hotel in Saint Malo, Brittany. Raised on café au lait and croissants and trained at the best catering school of the region, I developed an interest in quality food and hospitality, working at Michelin starred restaurants in France and in the UK.

the London School of Coffee where I have now worked for 18 years delivering barista training, consultancy, and sensory courses. I also developed Coffea Arabica Events, where myself and a team of professional freelancers deliver speciality coffee bars, across the UK and Europe, focusing on serving great coffee with great customer service.

" To me, the importance of a professional barista in the coffee's journey is similar to a sommelier opening a bottle of wine. The barista will fine tune their equipment in order to showcase the coffee, delivering the essence of quality and showcasing the work done on plantation. Baristas are pretty amazing really. They are the face of your business and help to deliver your vision, making sure each customer feels looked after every time they enter your cafe. EJ Is it expected of a barista that they take on additional responsibilities, other than purely making coffee? DR Great hospitality skills, care for the place they are working at, passion for the product and a team spirit and also the love of connecting with other human beings will all be additional responsibilities expected from the barista other than purely making coffee. The barista will, first of all, be focused on hospitality and making sure each client is welcomed and feeling comfortable. They should work to create a bond between the client and the business, delivering a spirit of community where people feel appreciated and receive a great service. Whatever the customer is waiting for - for example, a take away coffee on the way to work or a sit down lunch accompanied by a filter - it is important to make both

experiences as memorable as the other. The way the barista will greet, serve, and interact with the client will make an impact on the customer’s day and this is how you develop that feeling of community we all look for today. EJ How do you train baristas to deliver great customer service? DR I believe that anyone opening a cafe or hosting a coffee bar at events should strive to deliver great customer service. First of all, it should come from the owner to select their team, share their vision with them, then make sure the correct training is delivered. As a coffee trainer/consultant, as well as hosting coffee bars at events, I make sure I select people who naturally have a good presentation, good people skills and great customer service, I suppose the nature of employing freelancers means that I must have a team ready who understands Coffea Arabica’s vision and philosophy.

" To me, the importance of a professional barista in the coffee's

I brief them on the products

we will be using on the day for a tailored event and we discuss our client's requests and expectations. The most important part is that I trust them into delivering our vision. In order to build a successful team and communicate your vision, you have to educate your team with training and the relevant information on your product as well as inspiring their passion. Most importantly, you need to look after your team. This includes making sure they are happy with the communication and making sure you pay them well and recognise them. My philosophy is: if you demonstrate your passion for your business and invest in your team, your team will naturally deliver great customer service, as they will be proud to work with you, and for a business, that cares in all senses of the term. I have to say I have been incredibly lucky. In the past 20 years, I have had amazing people working with me and this is what makes Coffea Arabica, and enables us to deliver the essence of quality.

@coffeaarabicaltd coffeearabica.com

ONE MORE DRINK

WORDS CAL SMITH @calsmiff Based in London, Cal is a connoisseur of the finer things in life; in particular, good grub and good drinks. With an optimistic, but realistic outlook, Cal's here to close us out with an insightful coda. Until next time...

...AND AN ACCOMPANYING TWO CENTS failures. Please fuck off. If even for a little while, I’m sure they are all lovely people. If for some inexplicable and near impossible reason, this piece is discovered in a thousand years and remains the only text from our tumultuous period of history which scholars and the greatest minds of the time happen to study or even look at for GCSE English, the assumption would no doubt point toward a pang of jealousy. Please do not think this. I’m sure these lovely pontificating people are successful in their own right, in whatever they’ve done. They will surely go on to wonderful and far greater successes to eulogise about than I could ever dream of. I am purely trying to present a different view of the world, whilst treading a precarious line between good old British cynicism and a grumpiness comprising of someone well beyond my years. I want to see a rise in the glorification of the average and the day-today. The baked beans on toast over quinoa and kale era, the movement for ‘oops I’m in my overdraft’ and the no-shame I had more than a ‘couple’ of pints, or a couple more than a ‘couple’ of pints age. There is joy to be had in the mundane and prosaic, Martin Parr made a career out of it. The man managed to make Weston-SuperMare look as hedonistic as Copacabana Beach. Let’s bring this back into our lives.

Fuck the polished, clean living, been-to-thegym-at-5am-now-for-my-seaweed-facial self-promotion. It’s tiring, or I find it so. No doubt the aforementioned would be fantastic habits to upkeep and will surely keep them alive longer than I, but I just don’t want to hear about it. I’ve made my choices. Is it not perfectly healthy to be of the mindset that I’m doing alright? Or even, god forbid, just fine? This attitude seems to be the very antithesis of the angelic influencer. I am generalising here, but from the outside looking in, these faddish and trendy lifestyles seem to breed nothing but repression, self-loathing and inadequacy. Although, personally I wake up with anxiety if I’ve not been able to complete my morning ultra-marathon, have my macrobiotic smoothie and sit in an ice bath for an hour before breakfast…Oh, and of course, told the world about it. But that’s just me. I do truly believe, we are all narcissists to some degree or the other. Everyone wants to be seen and heard. That is easier today than it ever has been, for better or for worse. However, all I ask is let’s keep it topical and less Greek salad and overnight oat-y. Perhaps, there is the tiniest chance that I may be the issue here, but that would require a certain level of introspection I am not willing to undertake. Future me can solve that one. We don’t like that guy.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DRINKING Black Lines. Rum Punch Summer isn’t dead. Tell yourself this. It may be October and it may well have rained consistently throughout August but that’s Britain. Would we want it any other way? Quite possibly. If the islands of the Caribbean or the beaches of Guyana were lucky enough to be graced with your presence this year then no doubt you will have tasted the sweet nectar of fermented and distilled sugarcane molasses, rum. Or if like me, you didn’t make it that far afield, the fine boys and girls of Black Lines have got you covered with their exquisite bottles of Rum Punch. Made with Carbon Negative Two Drifters rum no less. It may not be your regular final beverage de la soirée but it certainly isn’t one to miss. blacklinesdrinks.com

It’s all a bit doom and gloom. Whether you have your finger on the pulse or prefer to keep your sanity, it’s not looking rosy. The environment’s down the pan, half of HS2 is set to be cancelled despite costing the GDP of a small continental nation, AI is probably eradicating my job, the average cost of a pint is up 35p since January and BBC Royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell is retiring. To top it all off, I am dangerously closer to my late twenties than I was at the beginning of the year and I’ve not even begun to read The Diary of a CEO. How will I ever stay relevant or find quotable content for my TikTok? On the upside, there has been justice for Tupac and the bloke from the GoCompare ads won Masterchef. However, one subject which has unequivocally gotten under my skin, more than anything else to happen on our small self-important island (including Witchell retiring), is the incessant rat race glorifying, hustle culture gawping, relentless pursuit of success social commentators who seem to be under the impression I want to know about their lives. By all means chapeau to you if you are lucky to have the Midas touch with everything you conquer turning to followers. Nevertheless, I have enough pressure without a ‘self-made’ 22-year-old millionaire telling me I should have the disposable income to flip three houses, get a picture with Wayne Lineker at Ocean Beach and take time to reflect on my learnings from my many many

CREDITS

CONTRIBUTORS NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART (USA) // DEUS EX MACHINA CANONGATE BOOKS // DIRTY HIT RECORDS SHANKY’S WHIP // YVES SAINT LAURENT AUSTIN CITY LIMITS MUSIC FESTIVAL // CHANNEL 4 IMOGENE + WILLIE // TOM FORD // BLEU DE CHAUFFE DAVID M ROBINSON // LEVI STRAUSS // ARBOR COLLECTIVE // SOPHIA DI MARTINO // LAURA COLMAN 98

STATUS PR // LLIO FLUR // MANCHESTER ACADEMY LAME-O RECORDS // SLAUGHTER BEACH, DOG PHAIDON // PICTUREHOUSE // APPLE TV // GEMMA WHEELAN // ITV // DAVID B. COOPER // ROBERTA HALL MCCARRON // CAROUSEL PR // ADAM SMITH SAUCE COMMS // THE REFUGE @ KIMPTON CLOCK TOWER // LA MARZOCCO

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