Editor’s letter
Red’s August issue is inspired by the alchemical, life-changing magic of travel. From novelist Bella Pollen’s moving meditation on loss and friendship in the parched magnificence of Arizona, to one family’s gap year in the Galapagos… I hope you are as enchanted and stirred by our portfolio of travel memoirs as I was. Elsewhere in the issue, Red writers review some utterly mouth-watering trips of a lifetime in India, Chile and Alaska (see page 161 – wanderlust guaranteed).
My own wanderings this summer will see me and my eldest journey to Japan in the latest of our ‘lovebomb’ mother-and-son adventures (Pokémon overload, unlimited vegetarian sushi? I’ll report back later in the year). One thing is for sure, I will be taking packing lessons from the Red fashion team’s Ready, steady, suitcase holiday style spectacular (page 14).
A new tomato-red swimming costume aside, one of the great pleasures of travel is finding time to read. We have packed even more stories into Red’s pages this month and hope you enjoy sinking your teeth into our particularly juicy line-up, from Natasha Lunn’s encounter with Rupi Kaur, the Instagram poet (page 68), to LS Hilton on the real secret of a successful sex-life, to Scarlett Russell’s interview with Angelina Jolie on family, activism and “weathering the storms”.
Making her debut on the cover of Red this month is Millie Mackintosh. Not being a Made In Chelsea viewer myself, I don’t think I properly understood the Millie effect until she attended a couple of Red events accompanied by an electric storm of press frenzy. And having met her in person a couple of times now, I’m going to hazard a guess that her gentle manner, evident work ethic and level-headedness most probably belie everything you thought you knew about her. Can she convert all of the above into a credible fashion business? That’s the question we sent Red fashion writer Deborah Brett to answer in The reinvention of Millie Mackintosh.
Of course, I love any story of a woman defying her doubters, shifting preconceptions and finding her next act. On that note, if you do find a moment between applications of SPF and your next perfectly chilled glass of rosé – do take a look at Your summer career toolkit (page 62). After all, many a life adventure was plotted from a sun lounger. Just don’t forget to share your inspiring journeys with us.