My favourite writing this week

I'm among lambs, children, ducks and goats for a bit, so just a short one today

Spring lambs in the Cotswolds

Hello!

Today I am lucky to be out of London zone 2 and in the countryside again. After spending a few days in deepest Norfolk for Easter (where I wrote about how nature is a healer for me), I’m now in the Cotswolds with my mum, sister, brother-in-law and two little nephews, aged four and six.

We’re having a belated family Easter, rolling painted hard-boiled eggs, eating pancakes and playing something called disc golf, involving frisbees, targets, much mud and a little frustration. It’s glorious to be here.

So - a brief one today, where I’m recommending a few things I’ve read recently:

Jo Thompson

‘s The Gardening Mind is a lovely mix of inspiration and instruction, and in yesterday’s newsletter she wrote about what to plant now for later summer colour.

Stephanie Land - author of the memoir Maid, about her job cleaning homes, raising a child and eventually escaping an abusive relationship (which was adapted into a Netflix series) – writes the newsletter

The Privilege to Feel

, about her experience now having become well-known.

Emma Gannon

, who writes the newsletter The Hyphen, wrote a piece on not having kids, titled: ‘Excited to be child-free (by choice)’. Interesting reading.

The Vajenda

, a newsletter by American obstetrician/gynaecologist Dr Jen Gunter, covers everything you wanted to know about menopause, plus other aspects of women’s health.

Her post ‘Why I got the HPV vaccine at age 52’ is a great overview for mid-life women who likely haven’t had the jab (it’s now offered to school-age children but wasn’t when I was a kid). Women 45 and under in the UK can get vaccinated privately – unfortunately it’s not available on the NHS.

Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next week with a newsletter about all things new. I’m fascinated by why we humans love novelty, but at the same time we do love to stay in our comfort zones…