My culture diary
Watching… Fleabag.
I’m a huge Phoebe Waller-Bridge fan and gobbled up Killing Eve [written by WallerBridge], and then both series of Fleabag in two nights with my 19-year-old daughter, Natasha. It’s just tremendous, nuanced writing. Reading… Circe by Madeline Miller. It was extremely powerful; it feels like we knew the story of
Troy, but never told through eyes of a woman before.
Eating at… I’m a massive fan of Leon [Katie’s husband, John Vincent, is co-founder of the chain]. I love it when they test new dishes at home! Near the BBC there’s a restaurant
I go to called Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack; it feels like you’re in Cornwall, even though it’s just a hop and a skip from Oxford Circus.
Listening to… A Bach
CD by an Icelandic tenor called Víkingur Ólafsson. When I listen to him it makes the hairs on the backs of my arms stand up.
Travelling to… Recently I went to Amsterdam for a mini-break with my younger daughter, Eleanor [14], and another mum and daughter. We stayed on a houseboat, saw the
Van Gogh museum, shopped at a vintage clothes shop and ate a lot of chips and mayo. It was great. Visiting… I have become obsessed by my garden and I’m always looking for inspiration. Top of my list to visit is Sarah Raven’s garden at Perch Hill. With our busy lives, it’s good to get your hands in the soil. ✢ Katie Derham presents the BBC Proms on BBC Two and BBC Four. The Proms start on 19 July.