Sunday Smörgåsbord #049
Paris picks, Olympic heroes, and two films about writers. Plus Tim Walz is Wholesome and I'm Here For It.
NB: [PW] signifies a paywall, though some providers allow you to read a set number of articles for free.
Happy Sunday, friends - and happy Summer.
We hit the road for our Summer trip at the start of this month for a rare five weeks away together, all enabled by various home exchanges, flexible work schedules, and much kindness and hospitality from friends and family.
I am still amazed by how new locations prompt brand new ideas or even just the inspiration to Get It Done (turns out ‘eating the frog’ is far easier when it means you can slip away for a pre-dinner aperitivo next to the St. Martin Canal). I also live in astonishment at the power of in-flight wifi that meant I could do an entire day’s work from 30,000ft in the clouds. No Zoom calls, don’t worry.
If you’re staying put this Summer, there are other ways to get the inspiration which comes from that holiday feel. Seek out a new café or community space to work in for an hour. Get up an hour earlier than usual and chip away at something new. Treat yourself to a new flavour of tea, or a special new coffee, to make it easier. Or perhaps you have another gem to suggest? Let me know in the comments.
Have a great week,
Emma x
🍳 Recent servings, in case you missed them…
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📰 Features & Podcasts
‘Tim Walz Is Overflowing With Midwestern-Dad Energy, and Social Media Can’t Get Enough of It’, Vogue. Social media can’t get enough of it? More like any sane person in the Western world. I read this glorious news whilst soaking in the bath of our Paris home exchange apartment and though I’d barely heard of Tim Walz before the announcement the combination of a hot bath, Olympic optimism and endless reels featuring Walz’s gentle girl Dad vibes and sensible policies meant I was practically giddy on exit. The man even got a write-up in Dog Time magazine for crying out loud (‘How Tim Walz’s Labrador Scout’s Heartwarming Backstory Connects to His Son’) featuring a selfie of him and Scout. But even aside his policies, Pete Buttigieg nailed for me why Walz gives such great energy: ‘it’s not about him’ - he wants to shine the spotlight on others, whether a coach, teacher, or VP. Given he’s on the ticket supporting what could be the USA’s first ever woman President - and against a textbook narcissist - that’s no small thing.
‘‘Ultimate wife guy’ or ‘yikes’? Mark Zuckerberg reveals 7ft statue of wife’, The Guardian. What would Tim Walz do? Definitely not this. I’m going to go with yikes, thanks.
‘How Matthew Hudson-Smith found way out of abyss to be new chariot of fire’, The Times [PW]. If you thought it was heartbreaking enough to see Hudson-Smith pipped to the post for Gold at the 2024 400m race, just wait until you read this. Hudson-Smith almost lost his leg to a gangrenous ulcer in 2012, two of his coaches died in quick succession, and he himself suffered bouts of intense mental illness exacerbated by the pandemic. It could so perfectly have been the script for the next Chariots of Fire, which is why it breaks my heart just a little bit more that this headline was clearly written assuming he was going to win. But after all he’s been through, if anyone can do it, it’s him.
I am a sucker for inspiring stories like Matthew Hudson-Smith’s - what’s not to love? But I’ve discovered there is a downside to them. The glut of heartwarming, motivating and sometimes stranger-than-fiction tales could go some way to explaining why one in four Brits think they could participate in the 2028 Olympics if they started training today. One in four! Jack Remmington summarises the delulu.
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser‘What now for France?’, The Foreign Desk, Monocle [podcast via Spotify]. If I felt deflated coming home from Paris, God knows how Macron is managing. The Olympics proved a distracting holiday from domestic woes, but now that the party’s over - do the French electorate have a short memory?
🎨 Arts, Culture & Entertainment
This latest episode of ‘things I watched on the plane’ is a little thin on the ground as I spent about six hours of a ten hour flight desperately trying to complete my workload before flicking on my OOO. Luckily I managed to squeeze in two films, and maybe I was pining for home or something because both were very English.
The first was The Lesson (dir. Alice Troughton, 2023), starring Richard E Grant, Julie Delpy, and Daryl McCormack. McCormack plays Liam, an aspiring writer who goes to work for the Sinclair family (Grant and Delpy) - ostensibly as tutor to their smart, privileged but listless son, but really to get closer to Sinclair (Grant) who is a feted novelist. On first glance it’s classic ‘fish out of water’ territory, and with Grant, the big house and a smattering of upper class sexual kinks it could look very much like Saltburn if you squinted. In reality, it’s a little more nuanced, though it did feel more like a play on the telly than a big-screen production. What drew me in was the writing connection - it’s always fun to see writers on screen, and with a lush background, it was essentially Substackers’ porn.
Continuing on a theme I then turned to Wicked little Letters, (dir. Thea Sharrock 2024), a cracking comedy also about the written word, though this time specifically a series of poison pen letters sent to the population of Littlehampton in the 1920s. And frankly, I think I’d read this material over the over-engineered novellas of The Lesson any day. These spiteful little missives are busting at the seams with such creative and imaginative slurs that they give Malcom Tucker and the Roy family a run for their money. What’s more, the film is based on a true story about the real-life framing of a young, working-class woman in the neighbourhood who was believed to have been behind the scandal.
The source material is so electric (the content was taken from the real-life letters) that the writing has to sing, and it does. It’s a heartwarming and hilarious script, which manages to draw real, three-dimensional characters even when the tropes of the form mean they’re larking about or veering into sentimentality. It helps when you have some of the best British actors working on the project: Jessie Buckman, Olivia Colman, Eileen Atkins, Timothy Spall, Anjana Vasman, I could go on and on but it will take up the rest of this week’s round-up. There must be so many of these untold tales about women in British history, here’s to more being dug up.
📺 What have you seen lately that’s worth a read, watch or listen? Let me know in the comments.
🍹 Lifestyle
Five days spent in Paris mean a glut of recs for the French capital. Breakfast, lunch and dinner?
I/O cafe, 16 Rue Dupetit-Thouars, 75003 Paris, France. Cute little hole-in-the-wall specialty coffee joint with a big-enough front terrace to wile away time as you sip your flat white. What stood out along with the coffee was how friendly it seemed - the barista was chatting to a bunch of customers inside, and on the terrace I overheard a conversation that had been struck up between two couples. I don’t discount that this could have been the Olympic effect.
Chez Minnà, 20 Rue d'Hauteville, 75010 Paris, France. We stayed a stone’s throw from this charming little bistro specialising in Corsican dishes and enjoyed dinner there on our first night. Picture the perfect Parisian place in your minds-eye, all low-level lighting, twinkling candles, the hum of chatter punctuated by wine glugging into glasses: Chez Minnà is it. We enjoyed delicious plates of canneloni, pork chops with polenta and Corsican cheese, all washed down with a good-value red and served by a friendly waitress. I’m hungry just recalling it.
Bouillon Chartier, 7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009 Paris, France. The perfect spot for a cheap, hearty meal in one of the world’s most expensive cities. It’s not going to win any gourmet prizes, and it is a chain (albeit a small, and longstanding one), but if you want three traditional courses, an aperitif and a bottle of wine for around 30 EUR a head, you’ve come to the right place. They don’t take reservations so be prepared to queue if you’re heading at peak time, but once you’re in you’ll enjoy the hustle and bustle and a seventies-style classic menu (think snails, steak and creme brulees).
💌 Substacks
‘#71. Movies I've rewatched over and over’ - à la carte
Like Karolina I love to spend Sunday evenings with a burger, glass of red and a good film. This fun article of hers gave me inspiration for my next Sunday night, but also sparked a mental wonder around which films I tend to rewatch and I realise they fall into three general categories: 1) ‘journalist against institution’ (think All the Presidents Men, State of Play, Spotlight), 2) ‘90s action’ (I think I could watch The Fugitive or Speed 100x over and never be bored. Let’s be real I probably have). And finally 3) ‘guilty (pleasure) feminist’: The First Wives Club, Miss Congeniality, Working Girl. My list may be more Big Mac Meal than prime fillet, but I embrace it wholeheartedly.
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!
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