Beliefs & Doubts

First of all, maximum kudos to Her Majesty. I had cause to drive through Windsor yesterday (thank you so much Highways Agency for shutting down three M4 junctions….) and it got me thinking about power and how hanging on to it is not for dummies. The Queen is wilier than Wily.E.Coyote. Putting aside royalty’s penchant for bumping off inconvenient rivals to the throne, you can’t rely on plain murder and mayhem; after all, uneasy lies the head that wears the crown and all that. The sheer wizadry of the smokes and mirrors sleight of hand pulled off by the monarchy is a masterclass in pragmatic politics. Forget Megzit, put this 93-year old in charge of Brexit! Having the commonsense to ignore the rabid demands to throw the baby out with the bathwater, Elizabeth R realises that when you have a couple of rock stars at your disposal, it’s better to to keep them in the tent……. Because love them or hate them, Harry and Meghan alone in that entire family are blessed children, they’re sprinkled with star dust. It’s not fair but that’s life. So, the Queen apparently casts them off while leaving loopholes that you could drive a carriage through in case the family needs them to return. Respect! The best bit is witnessing the incoherent rage of H&M haters club. They know they’ve been stitched up, they just don’t know exactly how or why. If you think I’m wrong about the utter lack of desolation that the media etc would have us believe is engulfing the palaces, answer me this: if you have a nightmarish family member who wishes to leave you, brushing the dust of your family enclave from their shoes, never to return and this is what you also wish for, do you,

a) tell them “Begone, into the outer darkness, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth”, or

b) pay off the £2.4 million it cost to renovate their home and let them keep that home, gratis, just in case they wish to come back and live 10 minutes away from you, the only ones in your family to do so.

I rest my case, m’lud. Point of all this, it made me think of perseverance. Yesterday was really hard, I think I just hit a wall. I’ve worked so hard at AlaraApothecary and I just seem to keep banging my head against a ceiling. So, there I was in church at the evening service and I remembered a cogent saying: ‘You can doubt your beliefs, you can believe your beliefs, but never believe your doubts’ It’s why I use my own products all the time. Just once in a while, I use something I haven’t used for a while and when the aroma fills the room, I think “This is soooo good!” It keeps me enthusiastic . Once more onto the fray I go. If I don’t put my products out there, I won’t find stockists. And even if people cannot stock them at present, each encounter is useful for learning what to do, or not do. Good luck in all our enterprises this week. Toodle pip.

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JOMO vs FOMO

Places I’ve been to that are much better in person than staying in and seeing their photographs: Via Tornabuoni, Florence
Megavissey Harbour, Cornwall
Double rainbow, Somerset
River Thames @ Chiswick

I was reading an article earlier this week which suggested that JOMO (joy of missing out) is the new FOMO (fear of missing out), the theory being that we are now all taking a break from social activities, particularly social media and rather than worrying about missing the ‘latest thing’, we ought to hunker down at home and just enjoy being cosy. Who can argue with that? It’s winter, it’s dark at 4pm and our homes are lovely and toasty-warm with any luck. Hibernating till April sounds great. And yet, and yet. I’ve been following the Harry & Meghan affair just like you and this is not remotely about being on anyone’s team but looking at the amount of vitriol being directed at the couple, I just wonder how much of that stuff the writers of such vicious comments would say to their faces as opposed to anonymously abusing them, egged on by the media. We are all becoming so disconnected from one another, head down staring at our phones, buds in, shutting out the world and other people. Being a contrarian, I believe that if anything we should all socialise a lot more and spend less time alone. Then we might realise that it’s actually OK for others to disagree with us without all protagonists descending to playground level.

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Merry New Year (Copyright: Eddie Murphy)

2020 – we all made it, hurrah and huzzah. Even though we are completely befuddled by the random days off and change of dates and can’t currently tell our Wednesdays from our Fridays (I know you’re feeling me…), we are determined to hit the ground running in 2020.

We’ve started by infuriating everyone we know. How, you ask? By pointing out that this is not a new decade, there’s no year zero so the new decade starts in 2021. Yep, 4th of Jan, and we’re already on everyone’s hate list. Awesome. Should you wish to follow this ‘despicable me’ lifestyle, I caution you to practise ducking quickly for a while first. People WILL throw things, the uncouth louts 🙂

So, going against the stream as is our wont, we have a competition starting today for a chance to win one of 2 New Year Hampers. Christmas Hampers are soooo 2019. Why? Well, riddle me this – who doesn’t like getting that last-minute unexpected Christmas prezzie after Christmas? Zigackly! Plus, who doesn’t like free stuff that they haven’t earned in any way, shape or form? The hamper will feature at least five items from our range, some of them costing more than a fiver! Just kidding. You are automatically entered into the draw as a subscriber so if you haven’t joined our list, do so ASAP, but there is also a chance to win another hamper by following us on Instagram so you can double your chances – just follow us and #alaranewyear. Good luck, mes braves.

We will be sending you notifications of new blog posts in 2020. Don’t worry, we’re such slackers we only write one a week usually so you won’t be bombarded. Hope you enjoy them – all non-trolling feedback/comments/jokes gratefully received. Prize draw will be on Jan 31st with three random winners selected (UK address subscribers only). You’ll get your goodies just before Valentine’s Day because AlaraApothecary- we’re all about the love. Have a healthy and prosperous 2020.

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Peace Like A River

The Beauty Bible Image
Ndidi Ekubia Petal Vase
Somerset countryside

The year is nearly over; it’s a privilege to be here to tell the tale. After what has been a pretty frantic 12 months, being able to take a breath having done all, and when unable to do much, just to stand, is a wonderful feeling. I have made so much progress this year that I think I’ve got whiplash. I think of 2019 as the year of rainbows. I can’t believe that I had so much going on that I was unable to get my entry in for the Beauty Bible 2020 Awards. However, I’m not really sweating that; these things will fall into place when the time is right. In the meantime, I rest in the everlasting arms. Having fought off a vicious flu attack a fortnight ago – thank you 2019, the gift that just keeps on giving 🙂 – it’s a pleasure just to be able to inhale and exhale. All orders have been filled and dispatched, all designs for next year have been put on hold as companies shut down for the next fortnight. I did some guerrila Christmas shopping this weekend, put up the tree, and best of all, went to the most uplifting Carols by Candlelight service. I wrapped all the presents and even managed to deliver some already. Who is this crazily-organised person? Nothing left to do but to wish you all a very merry Christmas filled with joy and laughter. A huge thank you to all our customers; your business is much appreciated and the little selection from my favourite images above is for you. If you’re still frantically rushing around, may I suggest that you stop to take a breath, listen to some music: carols are great, and I wrapped the presents to Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. It’s the little things. I leave you with some cheesy jokes which I have shamelessly stolen (thanks, Richard 🙂 ), and the incomparable Mr Armstrong performing the Basin Street Blues. Oh my:

Why did Santa go to the doctor? Because of his bad elf.

Why does Santa go down the chimney on Christmas Eve? Because it soots him.

The Original Boss
Ella & Louis — if I could do anything this well…………

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Maybe It’s Because I’m A Londoner

Nothing says Christmas like a trashed Porsche. Just kidding…..
Adaptation at its finest

What have I been doing lately? Working myself into into the ground, that’s what. I was hoping that the end of the year would see things easing off but it turns out that the full-scale warfare which my life seems to consist of at the moment is going to go right to the wire. As Charlie Brown would say, Good Grief! I had a brief respite last week, showing some friends around London. It’s the best thing, showing someone how much you love a place; it’s like seeing it for the first time. We mooched around Oxford Street and I spent my time checking out the windows and planning what I can assure you will be some pretty superlative windowns when I get my own store. My favourite? Selfridges as usual for its bonkers windows which have nothing to do with Christmas really. Just pure creative mayhem. I also like John Lewis’ windows, much as I tend to totally ignore Christmas Ads. This year’s was pretty good.

Excitable Edgar in all his pyromaniac glory

My favourite pic of the week was one that I took at Earls Court. Line upon line of birds perched atop street lights, just watching what’s going on. It wasn’t as if there were no trees, although Earls Court is not exactly a verdant paradise. The contrary little varmints just like to sit on the lights, mainlining diesel fumes. True London birds, scorning oxygen and surviving on pure nitrous oxide. Makes you proud, it really does 🙂

What else? I had cause to stay at The Moxy at Heathrow lately and I have to say that I really like their whole design-obsessed vibe. The checking-in is a bit sketchy, the company trying to run a business on a shoestring, as usual. Give your overstretched staff a break, they may smile more, Marriott Group. Despite being overworked, everyone was pretty nice plus the restaurant will deliver to your room 24/7 which is awesome for a budget price. If you’re fairly laid back and don’t give a damn about fripperies, I highly recommend it. The bed is super-comfortable and the rooms are spotless. Most importantly, the bathroom is pristine. I am extremely particular about bathrooms. Yes, I’m in therapy for it, thanks for asking.

Lobby: The Moxy
Sketchy check-in and bar combo. I love those booth chairs.
The pristine bathroom 🙂
Selfridges’ idea of a Christmas window. You’ve gotta love a meteorite-smashed Porsche Panamera. Needless to say, I want one NOW!

What else? I went for my first Christmas meal of the season. The food and service were so bad, it was hilarious. I am absolutely certain that the chef called in sick and the porter thought ‘any fool can cook a dinner, surely’, I won’t name the restaurant to protect the guilty but at one point we were considering using the crunchy brussels sprouts as bowling balls in a game of table skittles. It was on par with the fabulous ‘Liver in Lager’ conjured up by Timothy Spall in Mike Leigh’s terrific film, ‘Life Is Sweet’. Just imagine the worst school diner, ever. Luckily the company was so good that we stayed for nearly 3 hours anyway. In this spirit, I leave you with a cheesy food joke (see what I did there 🙂 )

“What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple?” “Taking a bite and finding half a worm” Have a great week.

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