Although I do main dishes of domesticity and colour and family and culture and craft here, I also like quite a few side orders which I rarely touch on in writing.
There have been lots of side orders of politics and current affairs and discussions on all sorts of non-domestic subjects recently. This is in reaction to what's going on in this country and the world at the moment, what Tom and Alice are doing now and how they are engaging with the world, and Phoebe's articulation of feminism from a teenager's point of view. It's nothing new; I was a noisy, questioning, rebellious teenager and sometimes I'm not so sure I've mellowed much.
And nor do I think I want to. I can't imagine what it would be like to not want to talk about issues that matter to me just as much as the lovely things I write about here. That's why I admire people like Tony Benn who carried on caring and talking and campaigning until the end of his long life. (He was also a legendary tea drinker - I once saw him at Bristol Temple Meads station appropriately enough in a queue for a cup of tea.) It's also why I am so enjoying Wilfred and Eileen (1976) by Jonathan Smith (one of the Spring titles from Persephone Books - the Wilfred of the title was Wilfred Willett, an inspirational figure who joined the Communist party after WWI and wrote very successfully on nature and ornithology).
One day I might write about how and why I became so passionate about women's rights, freedom of speech, funding for the arts, why I am always so ready to dicuss education, the monarchy, religion, assisted suicide, plastic surgery, and so much more. But that side of my life is probably best kept for another time, a different blog, or a book - or simply the kitchen table, which is where it can be found most days.
[Photos taken at Reg the Veg last week while I unexpectedly had a couple of hours to kill in Bristol. The lemons and garlic I brought home are fantastic.]
Something I would like very much to read about.
Posted by: teresa | March 17, 2014 at 16:55
One of the things I enjoy most about your writing is that you share your opinions. You bring up questions that challenge me to question. You analyze what interests you and lure me to care for what you care for...or once in awhile exclaim, "Really, Jane :) "
Posted by: Gracie | March 17, 2014 at 17:26
And please keep talking ideas of life and politics here too! Some of the best conversations happen while shopping with one of my friends and we get carried away about a film or about issues of equality, usually with little relevance to the sights around us. Although we have not recently enjoyed such lovely shopping sights as you show here. Look at those radishes! Perfection!
Posted by: Sally | March 17, 2014 at 17:42
1. Radishes for breakfast ? Well why not - in France we eat them with butter, salt and bread..
2. Never mellow Jane, please.
3.I listened to Tony Benn reading from his diaries on Radio 4 this morning, so moving. A great man.
4. I am fascinated to listen to Tim and Alexia and their friends talk about the rôle of women and feminism today. I suspect that young women are more realistic than we were, encouraged by Cosmo....
Posted by: Christine | March 17, 2014 at 18:52
Lovely post, I enjoyed reading it.i also love the Reg the Veg photos too! X
Posted by: Lyn | March 17, 2014 at 19:13
Ah Reg the Veg!! I have not found as good a veg shop in Edinburgh. Your post has brought back many memories for me of my life pre-babies and also pottering about Clifton with very little children. I wasn't expecting that this morning! Thank you.
Posted by: Anne B-A | March 18, 2014 at 10:38
Just to second/third the votes of appreciation - I'd be very interested to hear more of these 'side orders', especially given the arbitrary distinction some people tend to draw between 'politics', etc., and the kinds of things you often post about here. Life is about all these things and more, all jumbled together. I'd love to read your thoughts and stories, either here or indeed on another blog. Keep us posted!
Posted by: Jenny O | March 18, 2014 at 13:05
I've never quite understood having multiple blogs on multiple topics. I am always happy to get a sense of the whole person, all in one place. If there's a post on a topic that doesn't grab my interest, I know how to skip it.... I'm certainly not going to stop reading a blog because there're posts on topics that aren't among the things I focus on!
I would be glad to hear what you have to say, right here, along with knitting, quilting, and flowers.
Posted by: Vicki in Michigan | March 18, 2014 at 14:30
Find that the very best conversations with friends or family range easily from world affairs to new paint colours, or from literary heroines to favourite foods; and that domestic life and great thoughts about the world co-exist very happily. I really enjoy your main dishes but, like the others, would love to try a side order as well!
Posted by: Mrs Ford | March 18, 2014 at 15:18
I enjoy all of your writing, on-topic or not, and often wished you included your musings on wine here instead of in a separate place. Reminds me of Doris Lessing's "The Golden Notebook" and my own desire to live an integrated life rather than one scattered into disparage parts/journals/blogs. As another reader mentioned above, I'm interested in the whole person, and feel your other (political) voices aren't separate from what you create here. I recall you once making a stand for the domestic arts as a kind of political act, and I for one appreciate how blogging gives me a place to experiment!
Posted by: diary of a tomato | March 18, 2014 at 15:32
I would buy THAT book! Your other books are so lovely.
Posted by: tayloe | March 18, 2014 at 20:48
Oddly enough, as I have gotten older, I have lost my interest in politics. Perhaps I am just tired of how it doesn't seem to work very well any more, at least in the United States.
Posted by: Mary | March 19, 2014 at 03:48
Please, rant away. It is all interesting and stimulating.
Posted by: JoK | March 19, 2014 at 10:56