I’ve started eating porridge for breakfast. I always thought that making porridge was a bit of a faff, but then Oat So Simple was on offer at my local Tesco and, who knew, making porridge can be as simple as it says on the pack. So now, every morning, I eat porridge with a mix of cinnamon and honey and it fills my belly with warm, sweet goodness.
Autumn, or as our american cousins say: fall, occupies a romantic and beautiful ideal in our minds. I blame the films set in New York. The poster for one of my favourites, When Harry Met Sally, is a shot of them standing in Central Park in fall. Harry and Sally are surrounded by orange and red trees and the fallen leaves are lying glistening in the bright sun.
My autumnal reality is a bit different. The leaves fallen from the tree look pretty gross as a brown mush on London’s Holloway Road and my local park is full of teenagers, sharing joints in a very un-covid-safe way.
I love the summer and the feeling of the heat of the sun on the skin. I adore the light, aliveness and social enthusiasm summer brings with it, too. I also feel the cold more than normal people. When I shook hands in the days when that’s what you did when you met people, people would often recoil and comment on the iciness of my touch.
So as you can imagine, when I returned this month from a two week holiday in Cyprus, where it was thirty degrees and sunny everyday, I was so, so cold. On my first Saturday back in London, I was gritting my teeth and clutching my arms around myself as I braced the wind and drizzle walking down the streets of Dalston.
The next day was better because I put a warmer coat on. And just with that same simplicity of my discovering Oat So Simple, I could face the elements. I had a similar coat-led transformative experience when I purchased my first proper waterproof raincoat last year: the rain has been less of a pain ever since.
The warmth you feel in winter is a different kind of warmth because it’s a warmth that you create for yourself. Putting on a warm coat or eating porridge is a simple act of self-soothing when there is no sun to heat us up.
I want to do this autumn like I’m full of porridge. I’m in the mood to pull bubbling hot dishes out of the oven and serve them to my friends. I want to drink red wine in a cosy pub and eat pies. I’m also going to fill myself with warmth by spending more time in bed. Perhaps there is something romantic about finding simple ways to soothe and fill ourselves up with that warm and Oat So Simple satiated feeling.
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The goss
✍️ Nicola Slawson and I are doing our sold-out life writing classes again and there are both paid and free spots still available. We’ve got Write about your life: how to start and get published and Write about your life: how to pitch and find new stories coming up.
📺 I’m a bit addicted to watching Matthew Hussey YouTube videos at the moment. I find them so soothing and I like this latest one which is 7 Subtle Signs He Genuinely Likes You.
📰 Read Nicola Slawson being incredibly courageous in The Single Supplement by talking about her recent mental health struggles, improve your corona chat with this Atlantic piece about why the R rate is bullshit, I’ll never tire of the issues raised in this beautiful newsletter on fatphobia & disordered eating. I’m pissed off at how the pandemic is robbing single people of basic needs and here’s a relatable story of How My Obsession with Buying 'Stuff' Landed Me £7,000 in Debt.