‘5 Things to be Cheerful About’ podcast – episode one with Skye McAlpine!

Skye McAlpine is a London/Venice-based food writer and a constant source of inspiration and joy for me. I have, and cook often from her two cookbooks (A Table in Venice and A Table for Friends) and was so excited to chat with her for this, my FIRST episode of 5 Things and click play here to hear what’s making her cheerful this week…

Skye’s 5 things

1. COOKING The Pauper’s Cookbook by Jocasta Innes …”it’s bought me a lot of joy! She talks you through every step, it’s like a friend telling you how to cook.” Also, Niki Segnit’s Flavour Thesaurus.
2. LISTENING ”I’ve also become completely obsessed with needlepoint during lockdown. It’s incredibly therapeutic and soothing. I spend so much time on my phone, a lot of it is work but lot of is thoughtless, mindless scrolling. But I find if I do my needlepoint, my mind switches off and my hands are busy so I’m not tempted to check my phone. And while I’m doing that, my dream situation is to sit, do my needlepoint and listen to an audio book. Have listened to all the Nancy Mitford books but currently loving Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited read by Jeremy Irons. 
3. WATCHING Like everyone else, I’m watching The Crown and loving it! The sets, the music, the costumes, the story. All so good.
4. READING The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard (the first in the Cazalet Series).
5. DOING Long phone calls while taking long walks. “I’d forgotten how lovely and peaceful a long phonec calll can be. I feel like because texting was so easy, we got out of the habit of doing this”