WHAT’S (MORE THAN) GETTING ME THROUGH LOCKDOWN

 
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So I took a week off during lockdown — an absolute luxury which was also well timed. With the majority of work events cancelled for the foreseeable future, my thinking was if I’m going to step away from the show then there’s no time like the present! Nick and I needed it after, like everyone else, adapting mentally, emotionally and operationally to a new way of living and working (even though so much of it was similar to how Nick and I normally live and work!!!).

Here are some of the things that I’ve been into lately other than the knitting and the gardening that you might have seen on the ‘gram... OK, I still might talk about the knitting and the gardening, but I do have other stuff in my life too! Here’s what's been catching my eye, keeping me afloat and even floating my boat of late.

So if I’m going to tell you about my virtual holiday staycation then I should tell you about...

WHAT I PACKED IN MY VIRTUAL SUITCASE

I lived in my PJs for a week (but did change halfway through!). Though we’ve had a warm spring so far, our week off correlated with a week of rain, so I lived in a very cool PJ set (that frankly I’d leave the house in if I could) by Stripe & Stare in tie dye colours (even wore it to play one of my Insta Live #SaturdaySoundBaths once). I love Stripe & Stare’s super sweet, super comfy knickers and loungewear, but I’m also proud to wear their clothes because they pay extra attention to using sustainable materials, to transparency on the whole production process and to their mission to give back to women’s empowerment charities. When it came time for a PJ refresh, I popped on a pair of old favs from People Tree (by the way, I’ve still got my 17 tog duvet going on whatever the weather!).

  • Books I read/am reading:

    • Wilding by Isabella Tree - the true story of a rewilding project in West Sussex, where Tree and her husband Charlie Burrell let free-roaming animals graze their land, and watched in awe as rare species flocked to 3,500 acre world. A powerful reminder of the strength of nature.

    • Yoga: A Manual for Life by Naomi Annnand - one of the most beautiful books on yoga I’ve seen and a newly released one too.

    • Stalking God: My Unorthodox Search for Something to Believe In by Anjali Kumar - sent to me by a friend of the author. This is laugh out loud funny — especially for been there, got the t-shirt spiritual seekers!

  • Favourite pamper products:

  • Music I listened to:

    • Loads of ‘80/’90s songs that I haven’t listened to in nearly 20 years and that keep popping into my head during lockdown! Here’s my Spotify playlist.

    • Also listening to Mexican-Indie singer Carla Morrison (some of you may remember “Eres Tu” from my sound baths, retreats and my Needle & Thread dinner!) and spiritual Sanskrit singer Radha (I recommend Shivoham) on Spotify.

  • Drinks I’m sipping:

  • Food I’m eating: getting ahead with refreshing recipes as the UK starts to warm up for summer.

    • Pizza pudas - a favourite, lovely to feed the kids

    • BBQ basted veggies with almond aioli

    • 5-spice apple and rhubarb crumble every weekend - because I’ve still got rhubarb chutney in the freezer left from last year and need to keep on top of my fast growing rhubarb!

    • Buckwheat raisin caraway loaf that I’ve been working on - recipe coming soon

    • Watercress everything - I received some traditionally paper-wrapped bunches in the post from The Watercress Company and now that my wild garlic has run out, I’m getting into all things watercress (recipes coming soon). I’ve also been making variations of my Parsnip and Watercress Kitchari — just without the parsnip cos it’s not in season and subbing in whatever I can find!

  • Knitting: I’ve sent off my pennants (all 6 — my first attempt at knitting) to Devon County Show for the Guinness Book of Records attempt, finished a chunky knit scarf — just in time for simmer, ha ha — and now I’m thinking about crochet because I can make blankets and cushion covers but… my veg patch is calling me, a spare bedroom turned into a nursery/greenhouse. I’m getting ready to plant it all out this week — just waiting for that brief cold spell to totally subside so those seedlings don’t get a shock! OK, I didn’t exactly pack the gardening in my suitcase — let’s just say that I “stayed on site” at a wannabe biodynamic starter farm and got stuck in!!!

WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT

The Cleanse + Reset coming up for change of season — that’s right, summer is officially here on the Summer Solstice, 20th June! Next weekend, the 15th to 17th, is the Chopra Centre Virtual Retreat — I’m playing a sound bath and trying to work out if I take part in everybody else’s exciting workshops this coming weekend or time it with my Cleanse + Reset since the retreat will be accessible for 2 weeks from its start date.

Jasmine Hemsley