The Comedy of Errors at The Globe

Oh unhappy day, the Globe outdoor season has come to an end. But, to be honest, looking out of the window right now is not inspiring me to purchase a ticket to stand shivering under the clouds with rain dripping off my nose. Not even to watch the hilarious adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors again. Although, now I think of it, watching the Dromios run and trip their way across a minefield of puddles clothed in sopping robes would potentially add even MORE hilarity to the unrelenting slapstick scenes. If that’s possible.

The ‘ante-show’ was utterly delightful, with Dromio of Ephesus (Jamie Wilkes) trying anything and everything to get that last item of laundry down from the washing line pinned high above the stage. This was a play in which I really appreciated the choreography, and no more than at this point. Dromio’s uncertainty and wobbly movements were such that the whole audience gasped when he fell from the top rung of a ladder. Having got in the mood for the light-hearted physical comedy that was to come, the first scene was, I have to say, a slight disappointment. The Comedy of Errors isn’t a play you go to see for its plotline by any accounts, but Egeon’s explanation of the happenings before the play are crucial to understanding the sets of twins situation – the foundation on which the entire play rests. For me, James Laurenson’s portrayal didn’t quite match up to the emotional, heartbroken old man I had imagined. The speech seemed rather dry, and at times I couldn’t even hear it, meaning that a few audience members looked unsurprisingly lost once he had finished. I did appreciate the image of a lonely widower who has lost all hope, but felt the speech really needed to be amped up to provide more of a setting for the rest of the play.

From then on in, the audience spent two hours ranging from quiet titters to raucous roaring consistently. From the word go, there was no let up from the slapstick scenes, with props being utilised here there and everywhere. There was the oversized fish used for slapping people around the face, the octopus being thrown all around the stage, and of course the turkey with which one of the Dromios spent the majority of a scene with his head in. Every stage direction and every aspect was amped up to its fullest – the witchdoctor scene was a particular highlight, complete with a magical feast for the eyes and ears.

Each cast member was a comic genius in their own right. I found Adriana, played by Hattie Ladbury, specialised in subtle asides and sarcastic improvisations to put her own stamp on the role of neglected wife. Becci Gemmill, meanwhile, played the perfect princess Luciana, balancing innocence with jealous sisterly rivalry to a tee. Out of the four main men, I really couldn’t pick out my favourite twin from each set. Despite knowing the story, I had to double check which Antipholus/Dromio had entered the stage each time, even if they didn’t look absolutely identical, they had sure learnt how to act it. Antipholus of Ephesus (Matthew Needham) was certainly the angrier twin, really mincing the physical scenes for all they were worth, whilst the connection between Dromio and Antipholus of Syracuse seemed that little bit realer (Brodie Ross and Simon Harrison respectively).

Throughout the play, I was looking forward to the end. No, I was by no means desperate for the performance to finish, but I was desperate to witness the reunion of the brothers. To be honest, I was expecting it to be 100% comical. It certainly was comical, as with every other scene in the play, but there was an extremely emotional and touching element to the closing scene, which was unexpected. The two Dromios were the ones who really stole the show in the end, with the final moments given to their brotherly reunion. A mixture of embarrassed bashfulness with social awkwardness and subdued excitement, the two really captured what the situation might actually be like to be reunited with a twin sibling decades later – totally bizarre and stultifying. Once the Dromios finally made their way off-stage, hand in hand, the audience erupted into emotive cheers and applause. A perfectly unanticipated touching ending to an evening of genuine confusion and genuine laughter.

Julius Caesar at The Globe

I have officially started my MA at King’s College and The Globe in Shakespeare Studies. This is exciting for a number of reasons. Firstly, living in London for the first time! Ok, maybe it’s dawned on me that this is less exciting and more terrifying and daunting compared to what now seems teeny tiny lovely Brighton. I’m just about getting to grips with it…I think. But something that has not become any less exciting is going to The Globe every day! Also being able to geek out with all the other geeking outers on the course who don’t bat an eyelid at a little (a lot) geeking out. Our first outing as a group was to see The Globe’s production of Julius Caesar.

Yawn yawn, Julius Caesar, it’s only redeeming feature is the much quoted and surprisingly useful ‘et tu brute?’. Apart from that it’s just boring men boring the rest of us with their boring man issues. Right? WRONG. As may or may not be obvious by now, I have a soft spot for Shakespeare. But we all have those plays we think the world could do without. Probably doesn’t help that I studied the play at the tender age of 13 and all I remember is a rather quaint cartoon (the creepy over-realistic kind, rather than the fun cute kind) of the play being put in front of us perhaps in the vain hope of engaging us. Well, I could now go back and tell my Year 9 teacher that if they’d taken us to see THIS production every single one of us would be JC fanatics to this day.

Before everyone had even taken their seats or picked the perfect standing position, there were plebeians and townsmen ramming a box through the audience, mounting it and chanting ‘CAESAR CAESAR’, forcing us to join in. We were no longer 21^st century audience members dubiously waiting for one of the plays widely acknowledged as LESS exciting than some others, oh no. We were members of the Roman public, part of the mob, pawns in a political crisis, screaming the name of whoever had taken our fancy that day. But more on the mob later.

Caesar (George Irving) emerged. The very first thing that struck me was his humour! Of all things, Caesar was a joker. Maybe an inadvertent, over-cocky and over-assured joker, but a joker nonetheless. After the original spectacle of Caesar’s first scene, complete with a lifesize cow swinging from the ceiling, among other things, my stars of the show came on for their first scene. Brutus and Cassius, often imagined by me as middle-aged men desperate with jealousy, instead materialised as rather dishy socialist heroes (insert cheer here). OK the heroes bit is up for debate, but I think that loaded phrase really encapsulates the political element that makes this play SO exciting – especially the fact that it totally resonates with today’s world. Marc Antony (Luke Thompson) stole the end of the first half, subtly sarcastic lines such as ‘I am no orator as Brutus’ and ‘I only speak right on’ jumped out of his manipulative tone. I felt they could have been said by any Tom Dick or Harry, or maybe Ed, Nick or Dave…the mobilisation of the electric mob mentality that was charging round the entire playhouse momentarily took over from the specificities of the Caesar plot and exploited the vulnerable malleability of people’s opinion through speech alone.

I want to briefly return to Brutus, played by Tom McKay, as this Brutus does now hold a special place in my heart. My first impression was that the actor was a little uneasy and slightly static. But then I realised, he was being such a realistic Brutus that I had almost missed it! Brutus’ internal anguish and indecision was so perfectly epitomised in the tone of every single word he spoke, every movement he made, and every expression of the eyes (I’ll give that as my reason for why I couldn’t stop staring at them). It was because of this close attention to each detail that the exact moment where Brutus switches from hesitant senate member to ring-leading conspirator was so palpable. The relationship between Brutus and Cassius (Anthony Howell) was so emotional that people around me were shedding a tear. Theirs became a love story and it worked perfectly. By the end, when Brutus reveals his wife’s death, and the ghost of Caesar comes to him (spoiler: Caesar dies), his development comes full circle: he returns to the first Brutus we met, full of courage and dignity but hopelessly conscience haunted and pragmatic.

So as not to ramble on TOO much, I have just a few more concise highlights I feel I must mention. The use of music was something I haven’t experienced too much in the theatre before, and the mix between Latin singing and more contemporary, unusual tunes added a trauma and emotion to the traditional bloody murder scenes – a great juxtaposition of spectacle and sombre mood. In particular, the harp song which Lucius plays in the second half as Brutus paces his tent cemented this as my favourite scene by far. The jig at the end was also a new experience for me, I just loved that no matter the mood at the close of the play (spoiler alert #2: it doesn’t end well), everyone breaks into a jolly, energetic dance together to end the show – so uplifiting!

One final thing – tiny details are something I love to seek out in any performance, and Decius’ slow, subtle peeling of a tangerine in the night conspiratorial scene had me in (albeit inappropriate) stitches.

PS DON’T MISS the twist at the end. Pure interpretative gold. Ok I’m done.

It’s on until 11^th October so DO get tickets here! 

See You Tomorrow - Tore Renberg

Coined as a ‘genre defying novel’, See You Tomorrow by Tore Renberg fulfils its undefinable reputation. Don’t be intimidated by the thickness of the book, it is 600 pages of intense emotion and excitement. Written through the eyes of different characters in each chapter, the novel manages to maintain pace and a page-turning aspect the whole way through – something I was surprised about for such a long book. Starting with Pal, a father of two who needs help with his desperate, inescapable secret, the story linking each first-person character gradually unfolds. I found the staggered character introduction very motivating throughout as each time we met someone knew I hoped they would reappear in the next chapter as the protagonist speaker – usually they did.

The constant switching of perspective seems in theory potentially overly complex and confusing. In reality, however, it totally worked and really showed off Tore Renberg’s talent as such a diverse writer. Each character had their own distinctive voice, to the point where you could recognise who was speaking without the chapter title specification. Obviously, I had my own favourites and less favoured characters – I loved Cecile’s personal story and learning her tragic history. And that really is the beauty of the book: whilst there is the main plot line running through each chapter, every character also has their own personal story slowly developing throughout their own chapters. So even if you don’t love the particular character of a certain chapter, the plot will keep you reading through, and as the characters reveal more about themselves, so too does the overarching story become ever clearer.

Something that I wasn’t expecting to be so noticeable in the novel was the description of and preoccupation with the Norwegian landscape. The partners in crime, Rudi and Jan Inge, who provide much of the psychological thrill, are paired by their obsessive personalities: Jani for running an orderly business and horror films, Rudi for his girlfriend Cecile and his grandmother. Rudi’s monologues are saturated with memories of the landscape of his childhood, truly immersing the reader in the world of the characters and the culture in which they have been created. Renberg has previously been quoted as suggesting there is not much difference between Norwegian and UK culture. Whilst I agree that I was able to relate to and recognise a lot of the focal issues which the novel is preoccupied with, small touches which reveal the unique setting of the novel really brought it to life for me – to the point where I was visually dreaming about it!

As I said before, the transition from perspective to perspective was consistently flawless, each character was so well developed and recognisable – I believe this was certainly in part due to the realism of the language Renberg writes in. As a translated text, credit is of course due to the translator, Sean Kinsella – it is thanks to both him and Renberg that the dialogue and streams of consciousness were so natural and realistic, and therefore believable. This no-frills no-fuss approach made way for a totally raw and unadulterated depiction of each character. Whilst there is a fair amount of swearing and crude language, it never came across as crudity for the sake of crudity as it so often can in novels. Instead, it just became another integral part of the text as a way for us to further get to know the characters and their minds. As well as sex and swearing, the novel deals with some pretty heavy violence, both mentally and physically. I loved that Renberg neither hammed the violence up too much nor shied away from portraying it as brutally as it may be. This fact also led to the darkly comic aspect of the book – just as life has its horrific scenes, there is often a comical edge to everything we do, Renberg beautifully explores this fact simply through maintaining a strong sense of realism throughout.

See You Tomorrow is wonderfully intricate and multi-faceted in both its character development and plot development. I won’t lie, it’s not a question-answering novel, it is most definitely a question-asking novel. The beauty of it is explained in the title: purely focusing on a condensed period of three days, we only see what happens in those days and are left hopelessly (and frantically!) guessing what happens next, as well as what happened before. Frustrating it may be, but I dare you not to fully invest yourself in each character and find yourself caring about even the seemingly most despicable ones.

Read it now! Buy it here

Creation Theatre's Macbeth

Despite a rather hectic summer, I recently had a rather exciting development in my reviewer/writer endeavours. I became an official reviewer for Daily Info. For those non-Oxford dwellers, Daily Info (www.dailyinfo.co.uk) is the one-stop website for all things Oxford - whether you're looking for a job, a babysitter, or a vegetarian Middle Eastern restaurant on a budget, it's the best place for quick advice. Although I haven't had nearly as much time to review for them as I would have liked, when Macbeth produced by Creation Theatre was advertised, I jumped at it. I've been a long-time supporter of this Oxford based theatre company and have been to countless great performances put on by them, from Much Ado about Nothing to A Christmas Carol. One of the things I love most about them is their innovation and passion about the spaces in which they perform. The plays are often outdoors in parks and gardens, one of my favourite experiences has to be watching Antony and Cleopatra on the amphitheatre-style roof of the Said Business School - so authentic! As you'll see in the review, the use of setting and space was once again outstanding in Macbeth.

As a reviewer attending the first night performance, I didn't know what to expect. I took my little notebook (and my mum) along and we were both overly excited when I was presented with a badge and guided into a room with refreshments and lots of important looking people! We were treated to an introductory talk from the lovely Lucy Askew who has my dream job (chief and executive producer) before being led out to the gardens of Lady Margaret Hall which had been transformed into a murderous banquet scene. My review had to be short and concise, but I just want to emphasise again what I really think is Creation Theatre's biggest strength: their relationship with and focus on the audience as participants in the play. After all, that is what the roots of theatre have always been about.

Disclaimer: I had to write this review THE NIGHT of performance and so my comments are completely first impression based. As is always the way with literature and theatre, most concepts need a while to sink in and take shape, that's the point of them. Whilst I still stand by what I've written, the interpretation became a real thinker for me and I have come to more fully appreciate the artistic experimentation of the production.

"An ambitious and successful production, if a slightly problematic interpretation. Creation Theatre’s latest venture reimagines Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the setting of a military sanatorium, acted out in the gardens of Lady Margaret Hall. The experimental use of the setting was certainly one of the highlights: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth et al bounded manically in and out of the surrounding building, shouting out from various windows and bellowing down from the roof observatory. The audience were seated around round tables, much like being at a sinister wedding-cum-massacre, which the cast often marched through, hiding in the shadows and creating that increasing feeling of insecurity which so fits with Macbeth.

The ‘weird sisters’ were effectively disposed of, in their place were women with cloths covering their faces and men wearing gas masks. This worked well with the updating of the play into a war-time England, but I felt that the medieval plot itself could never quite fully be reconciled with the setting of a hospital full of wounded, shell-shocked soldiers. This was in part rectified in the second half, in which the hospital setting became a lot clearer and more interesting. In the end, I decided the interpretation worked well when viewing each character individually as a soldier obsessed with the war going on around him and the tyranny and murder dictating the world.

The first half ended with Banquo’s murder, a wonderful scene which really was a taste of better things to come. The playing out of murders and violence was a real highlight – the characters stood about two metres apart enacting the infliction and reaction, never actually touching each other - a technique that was far more effective and harrowing. The encroaching darkness undoubtedly highlighted the creepy horror story effect that the production was striving for and the actors really came into their own in the second half – well worth waiting for! Although Lady Macbeth wasn’t the best portrayal I’ve seen, the sexual tension between her and Macbeth (Scott Ainslie) was amped up to perfection – there was real chemistry between the actors. The cast was small, which meant a lot of doubling up – quite a difficult feat in a play with such a large cast. However, it did work for the most part, thanks to the diverse skills of the actors – Simon Spencer-Hyde was particularly good in his transition from Banquo to Macduff, the shift was flawless to the point that I wasn’t immediately aware it was the same actor.

All in all, the interpretation needed a lot of thinking about in order to get to grips with it. I wanted it to be a more dramatic reworking, either in making itself more obvious through props and direction, or, preferably, through cutting certain scenes and speeches which became somewhat obsolete within the new context. That said, the production and acting talent made for a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The effort in preparation and dramatic design cannot be faulted. The use of location, props and sound was perfectly balanced with the necessity for audience imagination – an eerie and memorable evening for children and adults alike."

Go and see it now! Grab your tickets here

Typhoon - Qaisra Shahraz

This review is rather overdue. I actually finished the book almost two months ago now, but the fact that I can still remember every character and thread of the story is pure testament to Qaisra Shahraz’s talent as a storyteller and novelist. This is my second review (and second book I’ve read) on this author, the first one being Revolt. Having enjoyed that one so much, I happily received this one in yet another package from the generous people at Arcadia Books. The books aren’t technically part of an ongoing series, but I really loved the feel of familiarity I experienced between the two. The stories remain separate and always totally unpredictable, but the themes Qaisra tackles are always similar.

In my review of Revolt I discussed the wide range of settings and locations the book spans which manages to effect a sense of universality whilst maintaining a focus on the personal lives of the characters. What I found equally engaging in Typhoon was the use of time. The main body of the book only spans a little over 24 hours; it is framed by a narrative set 20 years later, in the present day. The constant sense of retrospect keeps the novel fast paced and exciting, I was always referring back to the first part to try to fit pieces of the puzzle together and reconcile the characters (basically guess the ending!). However, the slow speed at which time moves in the main part of the novel juxtaposes this rapidness, creating a build-up of suspense and allowing the reader to accumulate a mountain of questions. As well as this, I constantly had to remind myself that all this action was happening in just one day. Whilst it is split between characters so it does not seem unrealistic in any way, I believe it is still a difficult feat to keep the reader focussed on such a short space of time for so many pages. I seriously admire Qaisra’s achievement in doing this.

So as not to ruin it, all I’ll say is that the book is centred around three women who all share a burden or shame that they experienced 20 years ago and that has impacted their lives ever since. What I really love about Qaisra’s writing is her ability to introduce and explain issues mostly unknown to women in the Western world of law, religion, shame and duty, whilst simultaneously showing that this is not what wholly dictates life in places such as Pakistan. Books such as Revolt and Typhoon convey that issues of love, jealousy, loss and desire are completely universal and cannot be ignored, even in the face of such ancient values. Not a single character in the novel lacks a sympathetic side, the village as a whole are constantly forging the battle between religious laws that their society is built on and more modern developments and ways of living that they are desperate to keep up with. Some feel they are able to move on, some just cannot accept modern life: it is who falls into which category which keeps the momentum of the story going and creates an emotional and exciting experience for the reader.

Read it now! Get it here

The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me - Lucy Robinson

As is evident from my review of the first Lucy Robinson book I read, beginning this one was an immense undertaking. I needed to clear my Filofax, switch off my phone, and warn all friends and family members that I would be unattainable for the next few days.

OK, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but Lucy’s books are SO addictive I just knew I’d be dying to read all day every day once I’d started. And I was right. Unfortunately I went on holiday to Florence soon after I started the book (woe is me), but I still somehow managed, in between all the sightseeing and vino guzzling and pizza gorging, to be weeping on the plane home as I reached the last page.

So yes, you could say I had high expectations. I’m a big fan of Lucy’s writing, and regularly visit her blog. Her writing is effortlessly compelling – the perfect balance of subtle wit, and outright hilarity. Luckily, she also knows how to spin a pretty great story, resulting in an amazing novelistic combination. She creates female heroines who are realistic, relatable, un-perfect, and totally imaginable. Unfinished Symphony follows this trend with the introverted Sally Howlett. We join her journey in the present day as she embarks reluctantly (to put it lightly) on the first term of Royal College of Music, all the while getting little snippets of the past few years and childhood of her life as we try to fit the pieces together. I really loved the non-linear structure of the book, it made it even more addictive! Whilst I was in the present scenes I was desperate to learn more about the past leading up to it, but when I was in the past I just wanted to know what was happening back in the present! It also works as an extremely clever and effective technique of making the whole thing entirely unpredictable. Unlike the majority of chick flick reads, the contrasting image of characters as positive or negative in each section of the book made trying to guess the ending impossible.

The majority of the reviews and taglines of the book mention its comedy, hilarity, laugh-out-loud factor etc. This is of course a crucial part of Lucy’s writing, and often hilariously subtle, although the huge emphasis on comedy seemed a bit misleading. What really struck me about the book were not the comic tones, but the more tragic ones. Whilst on the surface remaining a fun-filled romance story, underneath this book really touches upon grave and difficult subjects in an unexpected way. I found Lucy’s subtle treatment of grief, self-confidence, and familial ties very real and very moving. Yes, the book is about opera, and fits its over-dramatic, in-your-face mould, but the constant more serious undercurrents often caught me unawares and made me see both the book, and my own feelings and thoughts, in a new way.

Just writing this post makes me gutted I’ve finished the book, I always say (and probably did say for my last Lucy Robinson review) when you miss the characters once a book has finished, you know it was a good one! I’d love all her books to come to life but I just know nothing would do the characters she creates – the dreamy men, the clumsy heroines, the best friends that always go slightly too far – justice. Whenever picking up one of Lucy’s books, I know there’s the guarantee of all the traits of her writing and imagination, but I also know I’m in for a truly unique and unpredictable read with each different book. I will admit I loved this one a fraction more than the last one, but I think that’s down to pure personal preference and experience. I experienced this book in a very personal way and it has really made me admire Lucy’s writing in a new way. I can’t wait to see what she has in store next!

Read it now! Get it here

Honestly Healthy for Life - Natasha Corrett and Vicki Edgson

The ‘greedy’ half of this blog has somewhat fallen off since it started (a year ago!) – now the title just brings up an image of me physically devouring book after book which is strange and slightly harrowing for most. I’m keen to get the food section back on track as I am a massive food lover, and what better way to re-introduce it than with a combination of my two favourite things? Food AND books!

Now, I’ll be honest, I’m not a big cook. My boyfriend is one of those annoying people who just ‘knows’ what flavours go together and any random concoction of his is some sort of masterpiece. I, on the other hand, need meticulous planning and preparation time (we’re talking over a week) for one meal, and even then there is no guarantee of success – the uncooked-potatoes-burnt-onions-runny-egg Spanish ‘tortilla’ explosion is one of my personal highlights. However, this year I decided to really attempt this whole cooking thing and master culinary greatness (I’m nearly there I promise…). Soup seems to have become my speciality, minimal presentation required and just chucking everything in a blender suits me. However, the Honestly Healthy for Life book is a rare gem that has really got me interested in cooking – and it has soup!

‘Honestly Healthy’ is the creation of Natasha Corrett and Vicki Edgson – the first book was published in 2012, closely followed by a fridge fill service, and this second book. The books promote living an Alkaline lifestyle. In short, eating alkaline foods restores the natural ph of your blood therefore reducing common ailments such as bloating, indigestion, inability to lose weight etc. This is all explained very eloquently and clearly in the first section of the book, and one of the things I love is that this isn’t just a cook book, it’s a book book! It’s well written and informative and I really enjoyed learning more about my own body and the food I put into it. Natasha is a self-taught chef, and the alkaline journey began for her as it will for everybody: through realisation and research. This personal experience really comes through in both the explanations and the recipes of the book – there is literally a healthy alternative to any food in here – it’s magical!

As I said earlier, even when trying to follow a recipe, I seem to take a wrong turning and end up with a lentil-crusted pan and a traumatised oven. What I find great about this book is the chart of acid to alkaline foods at the front. It is extremely extensive, and means that if you can’t get hold of or don’t like an ingredient, you can easily find a swap for it – rigid doomed recipes are a thing of the past! It also makes it so easy to follow the alkaline lifestyle day-to-day, just knowing which foods are at which end of the chart has made me so much more aware of what goes into my body and how it makes me feel. To be honest, I personally didn’t find it that hard to mostly eat alkaline foods. Most acidic foods are meat and dairy and, already being a vegetarian, I didn’t feel I was missing out on too much. The alkaline part is very logical, it basically consists of vegetables, herbs and spices, all things I already loved cooking with and eating. Some things were harder to substitute: I am a cheese fiend, and I love my carbs. However, the book suggests such great alternatives, some of my favourite staples now include goat’s cheese, agave syrup and buckwheat (or other gluten free products).

I’ll admit I don’t follow this lifestyle 100% of the time, I still like a massive pizza, some chocolate, and a glass (bottle) of wine once in a while – but it’s nice to know this book is there to refresh me and my body the next day. Here are some of my favourite recipes from the new book to whet your appetite:

‘My Favourite Granola’

I’ve always loved granola, but ever since someone said to me ‘it’s just eating broken up biscuits with milk’ it’s been slightly tainted. This version is all natural, and nowadays I find it 10 times more delicious than the overly sugary ones you buy in supermarkets. This is guaranteed to make me in a good mood even on the earliest of mornings.

‘Green Love Smoothie’

I have ALWAYS been sceptical of the whole green smoothie craze. Green and lumpy? Ew. However, I spotted this one’s main ingredient was mango – the love of my life that is mango. I’m not a parsley fan so swap it for some extra spinach (see what I said about the swapping?). Its slightly unappetising appearance is totally made up for in refreshing taste.

‘Raw Green Curry with Courgette Noodles’

Ok Ok, I actually left this one to the boyfriend – I was just trying to avert any disasters! This is probably my favourite recipe out of the whole book. Not only is it super easy, the sauce is so fresh and crunchy – perfect for a summer evening. Moreover, since trying these courgette noodles I haven’t looked back. Even Angus, who is NOT a fan of health fads, loves these and admits they fill him up just as much as pasta. Amazing!

‘Moses’s Nutella’

I am a recovering Nutella addict (see picture). Having realised I was getting through large tubs (the REALLY large ones you can only find in selected supermarkets) about once a week with only my teaspoon as a companion, I forced myself to give it up. Until now. I’ve tweaked this recipe a little, and am still perfecting my own favourite version, but waking up to guilt-free Nutella on toast again is something I will not be getting over quickly.

‘Fennel and Leek Soup’

Yay for soup! I’m aware that a lot of people don’t love fennel, but it’s one of my absolute favourites so I was gleeful to read that it is one of the best veg for reducing bloating and water retention, something I (and most people in the world) suffer from. This soup is so thick and creamy it’s hard to believe it’s purely vegetables – I’m itching to go and make another batch just writing this.

So that concludes my (somewhat extensive) review of Honestly Healthy For Life, but I really feel this book deserves the recognition, and I wanted to share it with as many people as possible so they too can uncover this foodie-lover’s revelation.

Read it now! Buy it here.

Visit their website for extra info and recipes here

Tash is also very helpful and responsive on Twitter, which I love! @HonestlyHealthy