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Christmas gift ideas 2021

December 19, 2021 Leave a Comment Filed Under: Books, Christmas, Christmas Gifts, Christmas Presents, Gardens, Kitchen equipment, Lifestyle, London, Shopping, Travel

These last minute Christmas gift ideas could also work for the New Year’s sales (let’s see if the price goes down) or birthdays. As a side note, I’m expanding my blog from primarily food and travel into other areas that inspire: interiors, craft, politics, design, fashion and history.

Books

Blood Legacy by Alex Renton £12.76 hardback (Canongate books)

A few years ago I was invited to the Fortnum & Mason food writing awards and I took my upstairs neighbour Karen Campbell with me. She got chatting to writer Alex Renton, down from Edinburgh, about her Scottish Jamaican (and Chinese)ancestry. In the ensuing years, Alex wrote this book about his family’s connections to the slave trade in the Caribbean. He admits that, as an old Etonian, as the son of a Baron and MP, he comes from privilege, but he doesn’t flinch from looking at the question of his family’s responsibility for the slave trade and the resultant wealth. Renton spends time in the Caribbean, visiting an abandoned familial plantation on Tobago and the profitable ‘Rozelle’ on Jamaica where his ancestors  cashed in. During the Caribbean sugar boom, every adventurous young man of means had a go at making a fortune and the inhumanity of the slave trade was largely ignored. This part of British history (and let’s be specific, Scottish history) has been buried. It wasn’t just the English who were the baddies.

You might feel, as a white person, that this book would be grim reading, but it’s not. It’s well written, intricately researched, flowing and readable as a good yarn, but is suffused with a humble honesty from Alex. Right now, with the terrifying costs of the pandemic looming over us, this is probably the last thing we want to think about, but Renton makes a reasonable case for reparations.

Alex Renton also wrote a great book on vegetarianism Planet Carnivore which I recommend. While he chooses painful intense subject matter, he writes so well that it’s a surprisingly easy read.

Pretty Little London by Sara Santini and Andrea Di Filippo £12.55 (Frances Lincoln)

This is a book stemming from a successful instagram account . Amidst the grime, the pollution, the poverty, the stress, the crime statistics, London is pretty, there are hidden corners of beauty everywhere. Even though I’m a Londoner, I learnt about many new places and locations. The authors are Italian, and perhaps you have to be a foreigner to appreciate this city with new eyes. This is a great gift for those who like to walk, to shop, to nose around. If we cannot travel, explore your home town.

Edwardian scrapbook £14.95 Museum of Brands shop

I love this museum in London: they have scrapbooks for every era which is a great research source for fonts, packaging and style. I love packaging, especially food tins and boxes and I love a museum gift shop.

For food themed books and cookbooks see my previous post.

Drinks

Aarke water sparkler £200

We need to use less plastic don’t we? I carry around a water bottle and a collapsible coffee cup. But what about sparkling water? While I love my Soda Stream – design-wise, the Aarke water carbonator beats them hands down. Gorgeous colours, which fit in with today’s interiors, and a slimline minimalist aesthetic influenced by Italian espresso machines, I highly recommend this. It’s worth the price.

Food

Monastery gifts, basil vinegar £4.20 by Buckfast Abbey

I like perusing this niche site for monastery-made goods. A German monastery (Beuron Erzabtei St. Martin) made this basil-flavoured vinegar. I’m assuming the sales also benefit these religious communities.

Mr Moris bottarga £16.99

Have you tried bottarga? Addictive and delicious, it’s compressed grey mullet roe that you can grate on pasta or thinly slice onto toast. This version is beautifully packaged and would make a good foodie gift.

Clothes

Sheepskin slippers £24 from Notonthehighstreet.com

I was bought these pretty and cosy moccasin slippers for my birthday way back in January. I’ve wood floors in my flat so I need a bit of comfort for the feet. The stitching has come out of the toes which I’ve repaired with embroidery thread.

Red checked puff sleeve blouse £16.94 from Cider.

Soo cute. Unfortunately they’ve run out of XL sizes. I don’t know if Cider clothes (an instagram shop) are of good quality but I love this style. I’ve also been using Mimi’s Edit to buy some clothes. She’s a normal-sized woman with good taste so check it out.

Homeware

Ceramic splatterware plates (4) £115 from Petersham Nurseries. 

God I love Petersham Nurseries style. I’ve never eaten there, too expensive for me, but their homeware and garden stuff is sublime. Go onto the site and drown in an orgy of interiors and exteriors.
Enamelware salad bowls from Turkey, £20 from Kapka.com

I’ve been collecting enamelware for over a decade. It’s great for catering pop ups, being unbreakable, lightweight, easy to clean, and improving with the chips and dents of age. This Turkish company is exploring modern designs for a vintage material.

Splatterware enamel light shades, £15 plus shipping from the USA, from Crow Canyon Home

Bornn large deep rectangle dish (baking tray) £20 plus shipping

I discovered Crow Canyon spatterware at one of those posh organic petrol stations, while driving to Scotland. I bought the only pieces they had, a grey splattered bread tin, and a couple of serving spoons. ADORE. They aren’t expensive but I’ve sent an email to enquire about shipping. This is a woman owned business.

Twisted lacquered green picture frame, £80, hosthome.co.uk

Charming artisanal picture frame that comes in several on-trend colours (millennial pink, buttercup yellow, a subtle turquoise). This is a collaboration with art dealer Domenica Marland. 

Step Up Stool in forest green £74 Selfridges

If you are a short-arse you need one of these. The world is built according to a man’s average height. Even the areas that are not their usual domain such as the kitchen. Reach the top with this stool on casters that fixes itself to the floor as soon as you stand on it.

Linen ruffled sheets, turmeric £149 Folkinteriors.co.uk

Admittedly not cheap. Sometimes you can find cheaper linen sets in Homesense. You can also find ruffled linen on Etsy. My style is fundamentally romantic, so I love a ruffle but I do try to keep it within the boundaries of good taste. (I’m old enough to remember the swagged, ruffled Austrian blind fad in the 1980s. It wasn’t a good time for interiors.)

I have also started to opt for coloured bed linen after a couple of decades of only white. It is amazing how bed linen can really date your era. In my smaller bedroom everything is dark teal and mustard so this colour hit the spot.

Black and White Cake Stand £70, Finnish Design Shop

Stylish, graphic, modern.

Screenshot 2021-12-19 at 14.38.14
Screenshot 2021-12-19 at 14.37.31

Rattan fruit shaped baskets (large £95.90 and small £48.50) Finnish Design Shop

They say these are for kids but I think they are charming as laundry baskets, fruit baskets, anything you can think of.

Courses

How to make a notebook, £65, online class, House of Illustration.org.uk

They did have classes on how to make a comic novel of your life which sounded great. I think people often want experiences rather than things, especially if you are not sure about their taste, or they already have everything. A few years ago I bought my brother a musical comedy class and this led to a whole new circle of friends, a chance to improve his confidence on performing and several appearances in musicals. This class teaches you about book-binding and different kinds of paper. If there is another lockdown then an online class is a fantastic gift: you feel part of a community and learn a new skill.

How to make a pleated lampshade £360, online and in person. minervaworkshop.co.uk

I love the trend for printed fabric pleated lampshades. They are very expensive so why not learn to make one instead? Earlier this year I learnt to make a corset at Gartmore House (highly recommended). During the last 18 months I find I want to use my hands to make things. It’s good for my mental health during a time when it’s been very difficult to host my supper club and make a living.

Recent posts

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June 20, 2022

A dingle in Donegal: seven-day family trip discovering my Irish roots

June 12, 2022

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Platinum Jubilee recipes

June 3, 2022

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

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msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Looking at vegetables in Italy. Photo by @loredana Looking at vegetables in Italy. Photo by @loredanaparisi72
My piece in the @hamandhigh about the 3 day @heat My piece in the @hamandhigh about the  3 day @heathostile training course. Incredibly interesting & challenging. Link: https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/things-to-do/hostile-environment-training-9037980 to read more #hostileenvironmenttraining
Supper club dishes from Saturday: pickled beetroot Supper club dishes from Saturday: pickled beetroot eggs, cheeseboard, stracciatella & cucumber, tomato/strawberry/peashoot salad with real balsamic & spruce oil, home cured dill gravlax, smoked salmon, homemade sourdough crisp bread, potato salad with wild fennel & lots more! #supperclub #midsummer #eattherainbow (miss you @linnsoederstroem)
Last nights supper club. My first supper club in 2 Last nights supper club. My first supper club in 2 years was great fun. I’m pleased with my food, the guests were lovely, it looked magical in the garden. But the weather! I even had to bring my duvets from the bedroom out. They looked like refugees. But this brought even more laughter! Next event September
My first supperclub in two years will take place t My first supperclub in two years will take place this Saturday 18th June starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are £50 byo you can book here: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsommar-supper-club there are still a few places left. Pescetarian menu. Scandi and botanical influences. #gettingbackonmyfeet #postpandemic #smallbusinesses #supperclub #london
I recently completed the 3 day @heathostile train I recently completed the 3 day  @heathostile training course. On the last day I was kidnapped by ex-special forces for a few hours & learnt how to deal with compliance training & a hostile environment. It was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. 3 intense days of combat first aid, navigation & how to survive in a war zone. I handled short, long guns, mortars, grenades, bullets, and tourniquet & bandaged an amputee. I learnt where to sit in a car, where to hide from a bullet, where to protect myself if in a car. It was brilliant. Highly recommended for any journalists, photographers, cameramen, charity workers, paramedics going into any difficult environment say a disaster or war. The stories from the tutors & the other participants were so interesting. My piece on it out soon. Book a course: https://hostile-environment.co.uk/  They also do jungle & desert training. I’d love to join the Antarctic expedition. Anyway that’s me hooded in the front. #adventures #het #hostileenvironmenttraining #experiences #travel
Bundoran beach, Donegal. I spent a week knocking o Bundoran beach, Donegal. I spent a week knocking on doors, going to libraries, searching through graveyards for my Irish forebears. It’s really hard to find information prior to 1850. I found this in last years trip to Arbroath in Scotland. Headstones wear out, records are lost or burnt in a fire, everybody has the same name and are known by nicknames, successive children have the same first name, that usually means they died and the next one is called by the same thing. Women did have children out of wedlock, and people remarried more often than you’d think, plus families fall out & never see each other again. I learnt that my Irish great grandfather michael went to Glasgow & met a woman who came from a similar place: somewhere wild & beautiful by the sea. Then they and their children came to london. Chasing the work & the money always. Politics and economics matter for they push people around from rural to city. And now we rodgers are Londoners. #ireland #scotland #family #travel #roots
How some of us celebrate the Queen’s jubilee! My How some of us celebrate the Queen’s jubilee! My sister & a random Irishman come for the Rory Gallagher festival in ballyshannon. Sis has pulled already!  #getyourcoat #sexpistols #ballyshannon #rorygallagherfestival #ireland
Tullaghan, county Leitrim, Donegal, where my grea Tullaghan, county Leitrim, Donegal,  where my great great grandfather john Rodgers was a postman, then a tailor, then a pawnbroker. #irishheritage #donegal #myancestry #irish #rodgers #travel
I’ve taken down the previous post as it’s poor I’ve taken down the previous post as it’s poor timing considering what’s happened over the last 24 hours. Being British I’ve not grown up around guns. It’s interesting to be on this course and find out more about the reality of them, although my focus is learning the ‘golden triangle’ of first aid, communications and navigation. But at the same time It’s depressing how in America nothing will ever change regarding gun law. RIP.
Me as a punk. #pinkhair @caplanmelissa Me as a punk. #pinkhair @caplanmelissa
Sniffin’ glue: Me n @Jaybladesmbe at the Loctite Sniffin’ glue: Me n @Jaybladesmbe at the Loctite pop up yesterday. I’m all about repairing and upcycling my brocante finds: this time a beautiful pale wood lamp shade stand which had broken off at the bottom. I’m going to rewire it with 2 core sky blue twisted fabric wire, pop on my hand sewn pleated lampshade I learnt to do @workshopminerva and it shall be beautiful. Don’t chuck out your chintz: repair it! #therepairshop #selfie #interiors #popup
in June I’m having my first supper club in two y in June I’m having my first supper club in two years: here is the link to book: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsommar-supper-club £50 18th June  Saturday night. Byo.
#chelseaflower coming up. Last year I bought these succulents and planted them in a vintage zinc garden sieve. Now they are flowering. My balcony is like a little greenhouse: I can grow aubergines & other plants that usually need to be under glass. #londongarden #may #plants #succulents in the garden
Lemon drizzle cake. The trick is not to stint on t Lemon drizzle cake. The trick is not to stint on the citrus. I used 7: 2 Italian lemons (from Lidl):some ordinary lemons and some limes (18p) at Lidl. Don’t be afraid to mix and match your citrus. I also used buttermilk from @fenfarmdairy in Suffolk from their honesty shop. Last night we ate it still warm from the oven. #cake #lemondrizzle #homebaking #citrus #buttermilk
A Simple tomato, goats cheese and basil salad, spa A Simple tomato, goats cheese and basil salad, spanking fresh asparagus / fried in olive oil, season, then add a little boiling water, not too much, put on the lid, dressed with lemon zest & Parmesan, @fenfarmdairy baron bigod cheese, good bread. This is how I like to eat. Claire’s plates found at the beccles brocante. #suffolk #suffolkfood #supper #dinnerwithfriends  #vintageplates
Can’t wait to see what they will be like when th Can’t wait to see what they will be like when they are fired. All my favourite themes: gingham and scallops. Thanks to @clairebelljar for a wonderful weekend and pottery workshop. Such fun! #workingwithyourhands #playtime #creativity #ceramics #pottery #suffolk
Making plates with talented potter & old South Ham Making plates with talented potter & old South Hampstead girl @clairebelljar in Suffolk. She has the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen. Such a joy to be reunited with her. #friendsreunited #makers #potters #scalloped #wildflowers #cowparsley #pottery
Another budget gourmet recipe, the Sicilian capona Another budget gourmet recipe, the Sicilian caponata, which is like a more interesting ratatouille, in which you add capers, olives & vinegar. £2.50p. I was asked to develop a series of recipes which were delicious enough to serve at a dinner party but also cheap. I shopped at Lidl. #costoflivingcrisis #budgetgourmet #recipe #vegetarian #vegan #lidluk
Mackerel pâté, a recipe that cost under £2.50. Mackerel pâté, a recipe that cost under £2.50. Lemon & herb smoked mackerel fillets from @lidl (take off skin)3 big scoops creme fraiche from Lidl and juice of half a lemon. Blend. Plenty of black pepper. Serve with bread. #budgetgourmet #costoflivingcrisis #eatorheat
Just wrote a very personal piece for @hamandhigh o Just wrote a very personal piece for @hamandhigh on my decade as a single parent on benefits, how I learned to cook & how things are so much harder now because not only are ingredients pricier but the cost of cooking them is too. 3 budget gourmet meals serving 4, for £2.50 each. #costoflivingcrisis #budgetgourmet #povertyshame #singleparents #foodblogger
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