An off topic Q&A

1,
Describe your dream house:
My goal is of course the archetypal “Big fuck-off House in the Countryside”. A 5 bedroom 6 bathroom converted barn (only problem is all the barns have been converted already but I’ll find one, somewhere), kitchen with an island with 4 bar stools on the end, 4 car garage (needed for an everyday car, big country car, sports car, and classic car), home gym, cinema room, wine cellar, bifold doors opening on to 1-3 acres of land (I’m not big on the idea of too much land) including vegetable gardens and pizza oven, a dog (silver greyhound), big fireplaces, no visible neighbours, modern interiors, hedges trimmed into spheres and a gravel driveway. Ideally populated by me and someone willing to tolerate me forever (I doubt such a person exists 😅)

2,
Key to happiness:
For me… not expecting other people to make you happy. Respecting the preciousness of time. Appreciating nature.

3,
Dream travel destinations:
Currently… Japan, Austria (Vienna, or to ski), St Barts, Oman, Tel Aviv. Would enjoy Provence next year if possible. I base my travels around food mostly, so would enjoy the South of Italy also for a food tour.

Obviously the Maldives (nobody has pitied me enough to take me yet), but really only for 4 days because there’s nothing to do but snorkel, eat and have sex. Actually…. that sounds great! 😊

4,
Rank 5 sports in order from best to worst (to watch).
First of all I’m British so basketball, baseball and hockey don’t exist in my world. American Football is rugby for children. Therefore:

– Rugby (not willing to debate this – rugby is the best sport on earth. Like ballet for brutes, rugby at its highest level is beautiful and impressive to watch. Have often dreamed of being reincarnated as a rugby ball)
– Tennis (if you play sport or are athletic yourself you have to appreciate tennis for how complete a sport it is. This year was my first time watching Wimbledon live, and seeing the speed, stamina and precision involved was amazing)
– Football (I’m a Spurs fan and in the boxes in the new stadium they have heated seats and delicious snacks so that’s significantly raised my appreciation of football recently)
– Cricket (my heritage is half Caribbean so I’m allowed to say this: cricket is a seriously boring sport, invented for people who can’t compete in other sports – sorry)
– Golf (the discrepancy between how fascinating it is to play vs how boring it is to watch cannot be underestimated. Watching golf is like watching porn – people only really want to watch the last few minuites 😂)

5,
How’s the film list going?
It’s not. I watched Blade Runner last week and fell asleep 15 minuites in. It’s confirmed that I just don’t enjoy film (not Hollywood anyway). I’m still going to get through the list which has now grown to some 60 films, but I think perhaps the art films I love so much are perhaps more my speed. And documentaries. I’ve realised I usually don’t like fiction, in any context. I sadly can’t remember the exact quote or who said it, but somebody once said ” I detest all works of fiction, all novels should have a base in fact”. I know I’m misquoting because I Googled this quote and nothing came up – but anyway that’s how I feel. My current obsessions see serial killer documentaries, Grand Designs, and Chefs Table. I also like war films and films about famous/historical figures. I just finished watching the FIFA documentary and to be honest I expected the corruption to be even worse than what they showed. Sept Blatter – what a guy – almost a Bond villain – I’m absolutely amazed he agreed to be on this show… perhaps they persuaded him with a big brown envelope of cash 😂

6,
Would you rather have sex 10 times a day, 2 days a month, or 1 time a day every day.
I’m a self confessed maximalist, more is more. Every day please 🙂 (varying degrees of effort obviously 😇)

7,
You can only pick kissing or sex for the rest of your life:
I’d go as far as to say most people would have sex with more people than they would deeply truly kiss. Kissing is much more intimate but if I absolutely had to choose… sex it is.

8,
France or Italy:
I have come to believe that the French think they’re the best at everything and this is because for the most part they’re right. The main advantage France has over all other places is you can have a simple life with everything you need. As opposed to many other countries that force you into a complicated life with nothing you need. I love Italy of course, but I’ve visited France 3 times in the last 6 weeks – very varying places: St Tropez, Paris, and a quaint little town near Normandy called Honfleur… and I would say France gives unparalleled variety. That said, Rome > Paris. I love Italian style, but the French can do luxury like no other country (happy to be proved wrong!)

9,
(This blog was written before Liz won, then resigned 😅)
Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss?
Many of my friends in Think Tanks or politics think that we are basically all doomed. I’m a little more optimistic although I agree the options are dire. For me, Rishi Sunak, as I believe Truss is a fundamentally unintelligent person. I just wish Sunak would stop pretending to be in tune with the working man. If he owned his wealth, I think he would be far more palatable. You don’t need to pretend you go to Poundland or buy your suits at Marks and Spencers when your wife is a billionaire. What nobody wants to admit, is that for his position in life, his personal spending is extremely restrained. If I was Rishi Sunak all my suits and shoes would be handmade, I would only fly private, I’d pay my kids favourite pop stars to show up on their birthdays and so on. His approach is actually very modest, very British. He comes across as somewhat patronising but again, at very least he seems like an intelligent man, which would on balance be a net improvement on what we currently have.

10,
Favourite artist:
Currently loving the photographer David Yarrow. I won’t pretend to be more knowledgeable about art than I am, but I also went to a fantastic talk a few weeks ago by a female artist who compiles the most amazing limited edition books, each one a work of art in itself – these interested me a lot too. Recently I did the obligatory visit to the Frieze art fair – I won’t pretend I enjoyed it as more than The Other Art Fair in Shoreditch, which to the naked eye showcased works of an almost identical standard.

But anyway, that’s enough from me.
See you soon….

Love and kisses!

Billie x