THISMONTH …
THISMONTH
We ’ re watching …
OZARK
A darkly comic drama that ’ s inescapably binge-watchable , Ozark stars Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde , a financial planner who relocates his family from Chicago to the Ozarks – a summer resort community in rural Missouri . On the move after a money-laundering scheme goes wrong , the family ’ s safety hangs in the balance and the dire circumstances that continue to surround them force the fractured unit to come together . Violent , but not gratuitously so ; sexy , but not seedy ; and often very funny , Ozark is really well written and brilliantly acted . www . netflix . com
We ’ re reading …
SHANTARAM BY GREGORY DAVID ROBERTS
Based on the extraordinary true story of eight years spent by the book ’ s author , Gregory David Roberts , in the Bombay underworld , Shantaram is a beautifully crafted adventure novel . Set in the early 80s , when Roberts himself was an armed robber and heroin addict escaped from an Australian prison to India where he lived in a Bombay slum , the novel documents his incredible journey across an epic 936 pages full of seemingly impossible twists and turns . Now 14 years old , the book has lost neither its allure nor its storytelling power and has become a pilgrimage for many , which , upon reading , you will soon understand why .
From £ 7.49 , www . amazon . co . uk
We ’ re overexcited about …
HALLOWEEN
Thought to have begun as a mix of two separate traditions – the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Catholic celebration of All Saints ' Day – there ’ s just something about Halloween . Perhaps it ’ s because it really cements the end of summer and the start of glorious autumn . Perhaps because it provides a darker and more mysterious alternative to the equally brilliant but saccharine sweet charms of Christmas . Or maybe we ’ re just big kids and we love the idea of getting dressed up and roaming the streets soaking up the ghoulish atmosphere . Whatever it is , we ’ re sold – the history is cool , the social aspect is fun , the music and films associated with it are amazing … and there ’ s sweets ; what ’ s not to love ?
We ’ re listening to …
LORDE – MELODRAMA
Singled out by the late , great David Bowie as “ the future of music ”, Lorde first piqued the attention of music lovers with her debut album , Pure Heroine , back in 2013 . A New Zealander , she lacked the ruthlessness and over-polished ‘ in your face ’ attitude of America ’ s pop princesses , which , ironically , only served to heighten the interest surrounding her . Ironically again , she now resides in New York , the growling belly of the overinflated world of superstardom she so beautifully eye-rolled in her debut hit , ‘ Royals ’… that said , this second album , though clearly more influenced by the industry at large , is still as husky , observant and , well , pleasingly weird , as one would expect from Lorde and it doesn ’ t disappoint . https :// lorde . co . nz
We ’ re eating …
RAW HALO CHOCOLATE
Raw Halo is a start-up brand with big ambitions to become the world ’ s best-loved luxury raw chocolate brand and they ’ re well on their way with 12 divine varieties of raw , organic , refined-sugarfree chocolate to their name and an ever-evolving range soon to be released . Inspired by the search for a good quality raw chocolate product that wasn ’ t loaded with additives or nasty sugar alternatives , instead , Raw Halo combines superfoods with rich Peruvian cacao to create six ‘ Mylk ’ and six ‘ Dark ’ healthy twists on your favourite chocolate combinations - think decadent Dark + Lemon and Pink Himalayan Salt , and moreish Mylk + Goji Berries and Vanilla . Delicious . www . rawhalo . com
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