Thornback & Peel

I have been obsessed with Thornback and Peel napkins for a while now.. and every time I almost buy some, I think it's just a bit too expensive (after all, I need to buy at least 4!) and sorrowfully decide not to. Still, I can dream...

I dither between a smart matching set (the rabbit) or a medley: one rabbit, one stag, one partridge, one lobster...

Aren't their designs lovely (and odd)?

(Photo from notonthehighstreet.com)

E xxx

Peaches, right?

Or not.

This wonderful blogger shows how to create them... I have been meaning to make these for an age, and I definitely have a day set aside to try them this year... They look so summery and incredible, and the fact they are basically CAKE makes them even better...!

Old Times

What a beautiful production. Now, I did a bit of Harold Pinter at university, so am familiar, and if not familiar, acquainted with the somewhat mysterious nature of his plays, but I have never seen his work performed.

Yesterday, I saw Old Times (at The Harold Pinter Theatre) for the second time. I don't usually make a habit of this (my funds don't allow it) but, you see, the two actresses (there are only three characters in the play, Rufus Sewell playing the third) switch roles from show to show. So dazzled and intrigued was I by Kristen Scott Thomas' and Lia Williams' performances the first time I saw it a couple of weeks ago that I simply HAD to see them act the other way around as well.

Theatre critics have raved about the subtle differences between the two different castings, and I don't have much to add, only that both women seemed to capture a dimension to each character that the other did not achieve.

Doesn't it show even in these pictures?

On a side note, Rufus Sewell was pretty dreamy:

He also sings romantic songs for about 5 minutes! What's not to love?

The Harold Pinter releases 20 tickets or so every morning for just £10 - all you have to do is show up waving a tenner. Let me know what you think...

E xxx

Poems on the Underground

My form teacher at school had several of these up in her classroom and I was always, in moment of boredom, drawn to gaze idly at them. By the end of the year I knew them all off by heart.

And, in a frenzy of furnishing my new flat, was somehow reminded of them, and asked for Caliban's Speech for my birthday:

Isn't it beautiful? I've hung it above my bed (yes, rather cliched..)

So, I went for a classic, and there are other greats Chaucer, Blake, Burns, Wordsworth. But there are all kinds of poems - those by our poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, some by Larkin, by African poet Nii Ayikwei Parkes, not to mention Andrew Salkey's cheeky poem about British weather... Have a browse - there are 125 different poems and posters to look at.

The best thing? They're all just £3, including postage! However, they are an odd shape (think those long, narrow advertisements on the tube - after all, that's what they were made for!) so unless you want to just use them as posters, will probably need proper framing.

E xxx

Fantastic Mr. Dahl (& Blake)

Did you read Roald Dahl when you were younger? The Quentin Blake illustrations that went with them were just as much a part of my childhood merriment as the amazing stories.  I remember being terrified of The Witches, laughing hysterically at The Twits, and wanting to make my own Marvellous Medicine (like George!). I read the BFG not too long ago, actually. It really is wonderful.

Wouldn't these mugs make sweet presents for children (or, let's face it, for 23-year-olds too!)?

My favourite is the Matilda one. You?

E xxx

P.S. A Dahl-themed present that made me giddy with joy when I was younger was the incredible Revolting Recipes book - also illustrated by Quentin. I tried making at least half of the recipes - Mr. Twit's Beard Food, Peach Juice, Bruce Bogtrotter's Cake, Stickjaw for Talkative Parents - my mother was unimpressed.

The Sisters Brothers

Altogether not the book I was expecting. I knew it was about the Gold Rush and the Wild West - and Eli and Charlie Sisters (brothers), and that is true. It was also absolutely divinely written, funny and sorrowful, and ultimately a wonderful tale of a journey. It's also fairly short, so will be perfect to read inon a Sunday, looking at the grey skies of England and dreaming of the Dust Bowl...

It's always best to support local bookshops, but Amazon are selling it so cheap it's so difficult for me to say no...

Which cover do you like best, the one from the UK (the first) or US (the second)? Both striking, but the American one a trifle unsettling - or is it just me?

E xxx

Not exactly a lifestyle blog...

Hello.

I'm Emma, I'm 23, I live in London.

Think of A Delightful Day as an extended wish list, a place where I will share books I recommend and want to read, places in London or thereabouts that serve the best (cheap) food, present ideas for parents, best friends, girls, boys, interesting little stories from around the world, appallingly expensive clothing that I can never afford, film and theatre reviews, homeware, art, toys, photos, joy.

I hope you like it.

Have the most magnificent day.

E xxx