AT THE END OF THE DAY…
We moved to rural Somerset about nine years ago. We’ve got three gardeners’ cottages at the beginning of what used to be a drive to a big stately home that blew up in a gas explosion in the 1940s. We’re in the midst of building an office and studio for me. So it’s a burgeoning hamlet. The children [Danny and Molly], being 15 and 16, already have their eyes on moving out of the main house. To have the four of us at home this year, all the time, was so unusual that it was a real pleasure. I’m not sure if the kids would say the same thing.
My Times Radio show is three hours of live radio, four times a week. So it’s always near the forefront of my mind. I’m always looking for interesting, quirky, exciting things for the next discussion, or for interesting guests. If I’m not making the show, I’m reading the papers, mulling it over. Even if I go for a walk, I’m thinking about it. But I try very hard to take the weekends off. It’s easy to keep working all the time. You have to develop some discipline.
When you’ve got a good book you have to read for work, it’s an absolute pleasure. But reading one you’re not enjoying is a painful experience. My rule for reading for pleasure is that, if I’m not invested within 30 or 40 pages, I stop. I’ve just started Disoriental by Négar Djavadi, set in 20th century Iran. I love books that take me as far away from my own experience as possible. And I’ve also just got Derek Walcott’s Collected Poems.
I bought it on a whim and it’s fantastic.
I’m on my own in London for work some of the time. That’s when I get to be really healthy: I go to the nearest Whole Foods shop for wild rice and vegetables and drink lots of water and go to bed at eight. But in Somerset we have a family meal and my husband [lawyer Jason Mccue] is a fantastic and willing foodie, so I leave it to him. He’s more of a carnivore than I am, but beggars can’t be choosers.
I binged on The Undoing. I also saw a brilliant film called Rocks and watched The Morning Show, Berlin Station and The Bureau. I’m waiting desperately for the next series of Ozark. It’s completely bonkers, and Laura Linney is one of my favourite actresses. I love watching her enjoy playing the baddie for a change.
When I was a teenager, my mum turned me on to looking after my skin. She said it would reward me in later years. So I’ve never gone to bed in make-up. I use Eve Lom cleansing balm, and Vaseline to take off my eye make-up – it really conditions your lashes. I never skimp on face cream – I’m addicted to Irene
Forte Hibiscus
Night Cream and
I mix it with a bit of
Votary Intense Night
Oil. I also mix that into my body lotion, which is a good trick for dry skin.
I’m not like
Margaret
Thatcher –I don’t work well without sleep.
Seven hours works for me. I’ve slept longer and better during lockdown, although I have a problem with waking in the night and not being able to get back to sleep. It started with menopause but I’ve learned to manage it with yoga breathing. And I have the Calm app: every woman my age should download it.
Mariella Frostrup hosts Times Radio Monday to Thursday, 1-4pm. Available online, via DAB, smart speaker or the Times Radio app