This weekend I am housesitting for a friend slightly deeper into the forest than where I live, and right now I am being extremely indulgent and binging the new series of Rivals. It’s glamorous, glitzy, glossy and all those words that used to be applied to the shiny side of the 80s. David Tennant chews the scenery as a baddie (named Baddingham), Alex Hassell poshes it up as Rupert Campbell-Black, Aidan Turner and Danny Dyer sport ludicrous moustaches. The sheer quantity of hairspray in use would have dissolved the ozone layer if it still contained CFCs. There are horses, dogs, champagne, canapés, polo, pools, lots of sex and scandal. Equal opportunity nudity is the order of the day, which is unusual. Quite frankly, I am loving it and it’s perfect escapism at a challenging time.

I’ve been a long time fan of the books it was based on too – or at least the first six or seven. When the late Jilly Cooper moved her focus away from the parents to the new generation they went rapidly and disastrously downhill. Dame Jilly, for all her many talents, was not down with the youth or indeed the common people. The written ‘cock-er-nee’ accents – which the youth even sported in deepest ‘Rutshire’ for some reason – are atrocious. Teenagers are stroppy and witty, rather than stroppy and monosyllabic.

The book series is campy, over the top and entertaining and the TV series is shaping up to be equally so. Danny Dyer is sweet and charming as Freddie Jones, and Katharine Parkinson makes a lovely Lizzie. I was given a subscription to the Times online recently and it’s my new favourite thing – the magazine has been stuffed with articles about the show’s costume and stars.

I’m also loving the Times puzzles, especially Quizle and Picle and access to thousands of crosswords. I can’t do the cryptic ones though… Picle is challenging my non-existent geographical knowledge. Plumping for Southampton instead of Cape Town and Mongolia instead of Romania were my low points, but I recognised the Pierhead Building in Cardiff straight off. The daily quiz has way too many sports questions, however. An unexpectedly excellent present.

Other things making me happy this week

• Getting the Creative Studio into order with the help of a Dymo labeller and a LOT of Ikea boxes, and showing it off to some of our funders at an event on Wednesday.
• The play benches being installed ready for the opening on 5 June
• Putting my adult programme on sale – starting with an urban sketching session with the brilliant Wilson Yau on June 20th
• An indulgent pedicure on Saturday, with sparkly red toes to show for it
• Not the heatwave. The sun is nice but it’s wayyyy too hot.
• The long weekend

That’s it for me for the week – Rupert C-B is about to get in trouble…

Kirsty x

What I’ve been reading

Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon – Mizuki Tsujimura

Water Moon – Samantha Sotto Yambao