Joie De Vivre

Joie De Vivre

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Joie De Vivre
Joie De Vivre
A Short List Of Things Bringing Joie

A Short List Of Things Bringing Joie

Some random musings - what I've watched, bought, worn, eaten, read and lusted after this week including balloon skirts, good books, haddock fishcakes, matchbox covers and Ryan Reynolds.

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Lisa Dawson
Aug 28, 2024
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Joie De Vivre
Joie De Vivre
A Short List Of Things Bringing Joie
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This week, we are in Portugal celebrating my Mums 80th birthday. It’s been in the pipeline for a while, mostly due to the fact that there are 17 of us and finding accommodation to fit us all was not an easy task. We started this mini project by searching the UK for something that would work, but soon discovered that properties were, in fact, twice the price of heading to a villa in the sun where the weather is pretty much guaranteed and, actually, the food is cheaper. I like the idea of a lovely big country house with rooms for us all and a pool and all the good stuff but unfortunately, the weather here in the UK is akin to your most unreliable friend and the chance of it being either a) wet or b) 15 degrees on August Bank Holiday weekend is very high. Sigh.

As a result, none of my children are heading to festivals which is always a bonus. Festivals are my WORST nightmare from a parental perspective - it doesn’t matter how old your kids get, you will still panic that they are taking excessive amounts of illegal substances/being spiked/being squashed in a crowd/so drunk they can’t find their tent (delete as appropriate), made worse by the fact that there is no signal for three days. We once dropped Max in the middle of a field at Leeds Festival straight from the airport upon our return from holiday before not hearing from him for 48 hours - he wasn’t even 18 and it was highly stressful. Although I have to admit that I am deeply tempted by Glastonbury next year after seeing a fellow Instagram friend checking into his furnished bell tent, complete with mini fridge of champagne, comfortable bed complete with throws and towel arrangements and Persian rug. Camping for non campers. a good nights sleep and limited mud; I am here for it.

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