‘Music can shake you out of whatever mood you’re in’
Radio presenter HARRIET SCOTT believes in the power of music to blow away the cobwebs
Ilove to go through old albums I would have bought when I was 14 or 15. It takes you back to those most carefree years. I’m co-hosting the new Magic Breakfast Show with Ronan Keating from this month. I love a bit of Bruno Mars and Coldplay, and I like to discover new music, but you can’t beat the old stuff – music like Motown, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes just makes you feel really happy. It shows the power of music. It can shake you out of whatever mood you’re in. Some people like to put on a sad song and wallow in it but I never see the point in that. I want something to blast the cobwebs off!
I don’t practise mindfulness but I do take from it that feeling that you must be in the moment. I love to go for a walk with my two sons, who are five and seven. The things they notice are never the sort of things you notice, and it really helps to distract from anything you’ve got on your mind.
They are both obsessed with building work. As an adult, you walk past it in a grump. But they go into that hole for ages. It’s relaxing to go with the flow and hear their perspective on things. It takes you into a different world. I’m definitely someone who could be going around the house saying it looks like a tip, but if I take a step back and think about what’s important, it’s always lovely.
Maybe it’s a woman thing but there is always something to do. I’m hardly ever just sitting on the sofa. Sometimes, when my husband comes home and sees me sitting on the sofa with a book, he says, ‘That’s what I want to see!’ It’s realising you can take time out and not feel guilty for not achieving something simple, like putting on a wash. I’m learning to just relax and put those things that need doing at the back of my mind. It’s never going to stop, so it’s about mentally managing that, and realising that things won’t always get done.
I’m learning to relax and put chores at the back of my mind