The Bush Telegram #201
If the apocalypse comes, beep me
Oi oi, opener of this email. It’s Mickey greeting you like a cheeky Cockney sparra’. Yes, it’s colder than a polar bear’s pink bits outside, but there are hopeful little buds all over the place meaning spring is on its way and that’s delightful.
Let’s continue in this cheery spirit with some more hopeful news. News that I – and Jen, and I’m sure countless other people – am very excited about indeed. There could be some fresh Buffy in the pipeline. Rumours have been swirling for a while now, but things have really hotted up with this official statement from Sarah Michelle Gellar herself last week.
I mean, *looks out of window*, it does seem timely.
Needless to say, I’ll be watching the shit out of Buffy #2 should it happen.
What else have I been watching?
Well, you know by now that I’m not really one for telly, but I’ve been tucking into Mad Men now all of it is available on Netflix. I mean, it’s superb and I’m officially in love with Peggy Olson. As work means I often have three books on the go, I like to do one TV series at a time, but to avoid the wrath of Hannah Dunleavy, I have watched something else. What? Listen to this week’s fresh Outside the Box to find out more, which, if you smash that subscribe button on whatever podcast platform you get your Standard Issue fix from, will be waiting for you come Friday morning.
One more TV thing…
No, not Columbo, but the Beeb’s beautiful period drama Miss Austen, which explores the love story of Jane Austen and her sister, Cassandra. I chatted to screenwriter Andrea Gibb and she – like her creation – was a delight. Although unlike her creation, she didn’t make me sob for an hour.
Listen here:
Breakfast of the week
I’ve recently started eating breakfast. Yeah, I know, I’m just catching on to something 92.6 per cent of the UK do on the reg. Better late than never, though, eh? And indeed, I do feel much better. I’ve more energy for my morning and I’m full until lunchtime. Hurray! Particularly when I start the day with this absolute belter, which is so damn easy and delicious, I thought it worth sharing: warm chilli cherries with yoghurt.
Put some frozen cherries in a small pan, add a splash of water, and gently boil them with the lid on for five minutes. Take the lid off, add a generous salt and peppering, and a pinch – like 1/8 of a teaspoon – of crushed chilli flakes, and simmer again until the liquid is reduced to a syrup. Put a proper decent amount (I’m having 160g) of full-fat Greek yoghurt in a bowl and add your cherries. YES PLEASE JUST LOOK AT THEM.
If I ever need it, and even when I don’t, Mr Trousers tends to be on hand to help with the yoghurt.
And no, of course he’s not “allowed” on the table.
On the subject of better late than never, props to Nottinghamshire, which proudly unveiled 'Standing In This Place', a striking new sculpture in the Green Heart, Nottingham, commissioned by the National Justice Museum to honour the often-overlooked contributions of women in the textile industry – both in the East Midlands and beyond.
Created by sculptor Rachel Carter and Legacy Makers, this life-sized bronze piece depicts two women: an enslaved Black woman working in the American cotton fields, and a white mill worker from Nottingham’s textile past. Together, they represent the hidden histories of countless women whose labour shaped the industry.
There’s a long way to go before the appalling stats that fewer than five per cent of Britain’s statues represent non-royal women are less appalling, but it’s a start.
No news of the week
Yeah, this mailout is light on news – and purposefully so. You should definitely listen to Hannah and Jen on tomorrow’s Bush Telegraph, but I was very influenced by this Substack from David Epstein, suggested by Helen Lewis, and recommending regular news breaks for a healthier, happier life.
And with that, I bid you farewell.
Stay frosty,
Mick