We made it to March and couldn’t be happier spring is almost here. Here are some of the blooming lovely things we have both enjoyed, and will also be checking out for ourselves this week. Have a great one!
Read: Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan – This has been on my reading list since it came out last year and I have now been prompted to buy it, as it is both out in paperback and also Waterstone’s Book of the Month for March, so I have been seeing it everywhere. Set in contemporary Hong Kong and telling the story of a group of expats and their relationships, I am looking forward to getting stuck into this one this week.
Listen: Sam Ryder ‘Whirlwind’ – Singer-songwriter Sam Ryder had the most popular UK artist account on TikTok in 2020, but has actually only just launched his debut single – Whirlwind. Whilst we won’t pretend our music taste is the most refined, we love this track, which whilst a poppy ballad has a fresh sound to it that reminds us of summer. Given his huge fanbase that already exists, we can see Sam making it big this year (his team also work with the likes of Lana Del Ray, George Ezra and Calvin Harris) – so get up to speed with him before he hits the big time.
Google: Drive and Listen – We LOVE a road trip, and so wanted to share this great website that allows you to catch the views as you cruise around cities of the world – from Berlin to Buenos Aires, Johannesburg to Miami whilst also listening to their local radio station, but all from the comfort of your own laptop. The perfect entertainment for that morning coffee break.
Watch: Ginny & Georgia – Whilst Taylor Swift called this new Netflix show out this week for making a sexist joke at her expense, my friend Alina described it as an “edgy Dawson’s Creek” which obviously makes it a must-watch. Starring Antonia Gentry and Brianne Howey as the teenage daughter & mother duo (although there is also a younger brother Austin), the drama follows the family’s story as they settle down in a small New England town after years on the run. We are only a couple of episodes in so far and really enjoying it!
Hopefully that has given you a few ideas to keep you entertained this week. Until next time!
Happy Monday – here are some of the things that we have been enjoying the past week or so. We are loving all the recommendations being shared and getting great feedback on our inclusive approach to spreading the word on your favourite things. So please do keep yours coming!
Watch: The Big Day on Netflix Released in time for Valentine’s Day, The Big Day has been created by Condé Nast India and follows 12 couples as they plan their lavish weddings. Whilst the extravagant opulence is definitely worth tuning in for (some of these ceremonies contain all the colour, spirit and ceremony of an Indian wedding x 1000), it is also worth watching for its heart and the stories behind each couple and their path to marriage. For example, the story of Tyrone and Daniel’s relationship which is the first time Netflix has aired a same-sex Indian wedding. Three episodes are available to view now with three more set to be released later this year.
Read: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig Two of you have mentioned you have read or are currently reading this 2020 novel from Matt Haig – who is a public champion for mental health and has written much lauded other titles including one of Meghan Markle’s favourite novels Notes on a Nervous Planet. In The Midnight Library, the protagonist Nora Seed has the opportunity to reflect on her life and the choices she has made, and to see what might have been if she had made different decisions. This is an enjoyable and also hopeful novel with some life-affirming messages throughout. It also reminded me (and a lot of other readers it appears) of Sliding Doors– and there is nothing wrong with that!
Listen: 5 Years Time – The Podcast and in particular week 3 in which a wonderful friend of mine Lauren Everet is interviewed by Darcy and Harry about her career, and how she went from an award-winning chef on a yacht sailing the world to the head chef at the very special The Soup Kitchen in London that does an amazing job of feeding more than 100 homeless people every day. I am incredibly proud of Lauren, but that aside, it is also a wonderful, uplifting listen about following your passion, and building a career with purpose. The podcast is available across all the main platforms.
Listen: Black Box Down Our second podcast recommendation this week comes from my friend Sarah. She suggested Black Box Down – which bills itself as a ‘true crime podcast in the air’. I wasn’t overly convinced when she first mentioned this series on major airplane failures, hosted by lifelong aviation enthusiast Gustavo Sorola and his co-host Chris Demarais, however they also look at what airlines learn from incidents to ensure they don’t happen again. Whilst survivors are also perhaps more common than you might think – so it is not (always!) the doom and gloom you might expect. Definitely one for those who enjoy the darker podcasts but want a change from the real-life murders! You can find the podcast across all the usual suspects.
Image: Hayo’u
Using: A Gua Sha Finally, throwing something a little different into the mix this week. Having had calls with friends Anji and Alex where they both sold me on their Gua Sha routine, I invested myself and have to say I am sold. Not only does the traditional Chinese massage tool help to stimulate blood flow to the face and reduce puffiness through lymphatic drainage but it is a great tension reliever. The jury is still a bit out on if it is truly a game-changer but even for an end of day bit of pampering, that is a bit more involved than just slapping on some night cream, I would say go for it. Once you have your Gua Sha though, I would definitely recommend checking out one of the many YouTube videos advising on the best technique.
They are widely available these days but I got mine from Hayo’u
So that is our five things for the week! We hope you have enjoyed them and they have given you some ideas. Until next time!
Welcome to our first weekly Sundaze Salon round-up. On Valentine’s Day we have rounded up some of the things we, and you, have loved this past week. Thank you so much for all the suggestions so far and for showing the love to make the first week of Sundaze Salon a success. If you want to share any recommendations for next week’s round-up then drop us a note – the more the merrier!
Read: Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth Published in 2014 – Animals was a tip off from The High Low as the film version was more recently released. It is a light(ish) read about two alcoholic friends and flatmates – Laura and the increasingly erratic Tyler and their raucous lives in Manchester, as Laura juggles their co-dependency and her relationship with her fiance.
The Fonz picture was inspired by their own name for their come-downs – ‘Fonzing It‘ makes everything feel better as you keep telling yourself you are cool and everything is fine! The novel also introduced the amazing expression ‘TEFL pondering‘ into my life when the hangover anxiety from the previous night’s events are so bad that the only foreseeable solution is to learn TEFL and move abroad to a new place! We have all been there…
I think the book definitely appeals to those of us who are now perhaps a few years older than the books protagonist’s but can identify with their urban living, dodgy flat shares, party hard mentality and be glad they finally emerged relatively unscathed! I for one read it at home, in bed with a cup of Horlicks. Rock and roll!
P.S. Random side fact – did you know Henry Winkler invented the Fonz’s famous “Ayyyy” catchphrase to cover up when he struggled to learn his lines due to his dyslexia?
Watch: Queer as Folk We have all been loving It’s a Sin and rightly so, writer Rusell T Davies is a UK great and we have always been a huge fan. For those who missed it the first time around it is worth digging out his previous drama series Queer as Folk which launched to much controversy in the late 90s. Featuring many of the same things that made It’s a Sin – great storylines, a cast you fall in love with, and those epic tunes – Queer as Folk was a much lighter romp through life in Manchester for a group of gay friends. It also stars the wonderful Aiden Gillen and Charlie Hunnam who are definitely two of our favourite actors.
View of the hills around Portofino through a window
Google: Window-Swap For all those in lockdown and bored of their own four walls, Window Swap is one of those simple but brilliant website ideas. On Window Swap you simply click to view out of someone else’s window. Uploaded content we have been watching includes videos of Tuscan hills, snowy European mountains, New York skylines and so much more. Get bored of their view – just click again to be transported somewhere else. You can also upload your own view to share with the world.
Cook: Tin Can Magicby Jessica Elliott Dennison Recommended by a follower, this cookbook is one you can judge by the cover. Tasty and straight-forward recipes using items you are likely to have in the cupboard or can easily find – perfect for those mid-week meals.
Daisy May Cooper: Image by Charlie Clift/ Bafta/ Camera Press
Follow: Daisy May Cooper Her observations on current events and ‘all this’ have kept us and you laughing our way into 2021. But don’t just take our word for it – she also won a BAFTA for her BBC Series This Country back in 2018 which she co-wrote with her brother.
Thursday, 11th February 2021 Heading to the club this weekend? And by club, we mean Clubhouse…
Clubhouse is a new social media platform that is based around an app. It is all audio and works by members joining together in themed rooms for discussions hosted by other members. You can then choose to simply listen in, join the chat, or simply slip out if you aren’t into the conversation. The vast majority of people don’t speak on here – just listen in, hence the ‘live podcasting’ comparisons it is getting. You can also access the profiles of everyone in the room allowing you to see others with common connections and follow them.
The app itself is currently in beta testing phase and also currently only iPhone (sorry Android users…but apparently it is coming) and despite being the new kid on the block, it is creating quite the buzz. So much so, that Facebook yesterday announced they are set to build their own version for testing.
I downloaded and signed up a couple of weeks ago and have been playing around with it, At first I was not completely sure as it just seemed to be a lot of people on the self-promotion thing… but having spent some time digging around I can see its potential. For me, at the minimum, it has been enjoyable background noise and increasingly there are interesting people signing up who I either know in real life or follow on other social media platforms – so it is great to hear them speak. Before you do, here are some tips from my user experience for those looking to jump into the conversation.
On signing up
Invites – When you sign up – you will get invites that you can share with friends. Outside of getting these invites there is as yet no access to the site. Make sure if sending to friends they have an iPhone and will also accept and sign up, as there is no way to cancel an invite currently. If one of your contacts signs up for Clubhouse and joins the waiting list, you do however also get the option to let them in (power)!
‘Following’ – Again when you initially sign up, you will be asked if you want to automatically follow a bunch of people with large followers (i.e. Clubhouse influencers) who are already on the site. I would recommend you not to do this as a mass accept, because half of these you will probably have no interest in. If you do follow them, you then get a notification whenever any of them are involved in a discussion on the app, which can be annoying. So it is best to just follow people you have a genuine interest in from the outset. The only exception I would make to this is that you will get asked if you want to follow the Clubhouse founders/ lead team. I would recommend this as they seem to be involved in getting the big names on the site currently – in recent days Elon Musk, Kanye West and Mark Zuckerberg have all been on the app participating in discussions.
Interests – On signing up you will also get asked your interests – be specific on these around topics that you would genuinely like to listen into conversations on. There are a lot of clubs already established, so click on search and find clubs that you might like to join on specific themes. I found this a better way to find groups I am genuinely interested in. You can also see, when you click on peoples profiles see which groups they are following. Find people you admire or like and then see which groups they are part of.
Once you are up and rolling in the Club
Notifications – On the above point on ‘following’, when you get a notification on your phone about a room in discussion, the notification itself takes you directly into the room. You can easily leave the room – no problem, but be prepared your own followers (as above) might then get an alert letting them know you are in that room. So be careful which notifications you click on as a couple of friends have questioned my lifestyle choices when I have entered a random room at 3am due to an accidental click. You can see all the pre-scheduled discussions in the notification section of your app, so there is also an argument for switching notifications off in phone settings too I guess.
Contacts – The ‘contacts’ in here are pulled from your phone. This means you get notifications when anyone in your phone joins. Now, I don’t know about you but I haven’t touched my Cloud in years, so you get a lot of random people from your past popping up in the app with a note asking if you want to follow them. This has its pros and cons I guess…
On this, I would also therefore think about who you follow on other channels and might not be in your phone contact list, as you will need to search for them in the app.
Overall, my advice would be if you like people, like podcasts and enjoy discussions on your interests then give it a shot. The general POV is that they will monetise the groups soon to create a sort of audio version of Only Fans, that is (probably) slightly less salacious, so best to be on board now before that happens.
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Wednesday, 10th February 2021 Deco is a London pop band whose 80s electro mash-ups of iconic songs, such as Oasis’ Wonderwall to the tune of Smalltown Boy, by Bronski Beat, have seen them score mass popularity on social media in recent weeks. Their own original tunes are also pretty good too! You can find out more about them via the below links and don’t miss those YouTube remixes…
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