Sunday smörgåsbord #041 - 14.4
This week: Valencian paellas, Victorian magicians, and a race across the world.
NB: [PW] signifies a paywall, though some providers allow you to read a set number of articles for free.
Happy Sunday, friends! I hope you're having a wonderful one, wherever you are.
I myself am writing this to you from Madrid airport where I’m gearing up to head to my home away from home, Singapore, for ten days on a work trip. I lived in the Lion City for almost five years, and this is the first time since leaving that I’m going back for a visit. I’m excited, but also intrigued to see how I’ll feel once I see the skyline (and feel the near-100% humidity). A bit emotional, I imagine. Oh, and sweaty.
Thanks for being here,
Emma x
🍳 In case you missed them…
❤️ If you liked this post don’t forget to hit the heart to let me know and help others find my writing.
📮 And if you’re not yet subscribed, all editions of Sunday Smörgåsbord are free forever. Sign up for free and get next week’s in your inbox
Features & Podcasts
‘9,500 miles then a daiquiri: Briton to finish his run across Africa’, The Times [PW]. One week on and I'm still puzzled how a man can fail to hit a £1 million fundraising goal running the entire length of Africa when another managed £15 million for doing 100 laps of his garden. No shade at Sir Captain Tom (he was 99 at the time!) but I seriously wonder about the British public sometimes.
‘How Cord Jefferson turned a novel about race into American Fiction – the year’s buzziest comedy’, The Guardian. After watching this Oscar nominee a few weeks back (see: Sunday Smörg #39) I came across this incisive interview with the director by Otegha Uwagba, which opens with an uncannily similar plotline to the film, but taken from Uwagba’s own life. I really admire Uwagba as a writer (her Instagram is also a scream), and opening with this anecdote was a clever call, immediately turning the tone of the interview into a meeting of equals diving into new material together, rather than any sort of sycophantic one-way promo-call.
OJ Simpson died and, as per my Friday essay, I’ve been pulled, senselessly like a moth towards the flame that is case coverage. I was irritated to see the Times obituary filled with some basic errors (one of which is the continued mistaken insinuation that Ron Goldman was Nicole Brown’s boyfriend), and overall it felt too many obits covered on him as a celebrity and athlete as much as murderer. Here were some of the articles I got something a bit more balanced and/or interesting, often because they’re written by people who were there at the time:
‘The day they set OJ Simpson free – and left America in turmoil’, The Guardian.
‘The night OJ tried to stab me with a banana’, The Times [PW].
‘OJ Simpson died the comfortable death in old age that Nicole Brown should have had’, The Guardian.
‘The OJ Simpson car chase’s white Bronco has its own shady history’, The Times [PW].
‘30 years later, the shock of OJ Simpson is still changing America’, The Times [PW].
Arts, Culture & Entertainment
The Prestige, dir. Nolan, 2006. Rewatching this last weekend I spent the first half of this film wondering why I didn’t remember any of it, before realising I was mixing it up with The Illusionist, another film about a mysterious 19th century magician which came out in 2006. I enjoyed the twisting, turning of time and place in this film (doubly so given it was set in the Victorian period), and a roll call of mid-noughties’ Hollywood greats (Christian Bale.. greatest actor of our generation? Discuss). That said, David Bowie turning up as Nikola Tesla may have been a step too far. I guess the line between genius and madness is blurry.
Lifestyle
Valencia Wine Festival, 4 - 8 April, Turia Gardens. For a relatively small city I’m always impressed by just how much Valencia has going on culturally. Every weekend it feels like there is another festival, from the annual artichoke festival to live music at the marina most weekends. Last weekend was the wine festival, I’d say one of the most popular cultural festivals here (wait, should I be moving this up from ‘Lifestyle’). Every year part of the old Turia riverbed (since converted to a park I should add), is taken over by reps from vineyards large and small, each trying to entice you to try their wares. Though prices have shot up the last few years (in 2019 it cost 5 euros) it’s still excellent value: 18 euros will get you four ‘copas’ of wine included, and the choice is pretty large. For those that you can’t get enough of you can buy a bottle to take home at prices cheaper than the supermarket (accompanied with a nice plate of cheese to share amongst friends in the park). The only downside is the later it gets the more of a botellón it can resemble.
Bike ride to Albufera followed by Paella Valenciana at El Rek and a boat ride around Albufera lake, Valencia. I’ve been doubling down on Valencian activities this week as I had friends in town visiting. On Friday we did one of the best day trips you can do in the city: hired bikes and cycled down to Albufera, where the paella rice is grown. The cycle is about 21km, past Valencia city, the beach at Piñedo, by the sand dunes of El Saler, the wildlife park (if you’re lucky you’ll see flamingos!) and then finally the rice paddies. We rewarded ourselves with a typical Valencian paella full of green beans, chicken and rabbit, and then enjoyed a forty-five minute pootle around the lake with a guide on an old fisherman boat. With the wooden boats, rice fields and sandy beaches, the landscape of this part of Valencia oddly always reminds me of living in Asia, so it was nice to share it with friends who I’d met whilst there.
That’s it for this week. I hope you find something in this list that sparks joy or curiosity.
If you’ve got any recommendations on articles, podcasts, Substacks or shows for me to dive into, please drop them in the comments. Until next time!
❤️ If you liked this post don’t forget to hit the heart to let me know and help others find my writing.
📮 And if you’re not yet subscribed, all editions of Sunday smörgåsbord are free forever. Sign up for free and get next week’s in your inbox.