The Last… With Charlotte Wood

The Last…

Time you danced?
Last night in the packing room, I found my daughter Rose dancing to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Waltz on Classic FM. I was completely obsessed with that piece of music when I was a teenager after seeing Sean Bean waltz with Sophie Marceau to it in Anna Karenina. I used to dream of the day Sean Bean might waltz with me. Turns out nothing beats a waltz with your nine-year-old daughter.

Thing you bought from an actual shop?
A coffee. My morning coffee gives me a weird amount of joy.

Thing you brought online?
A new dress from Smock London. I have a big hole in my winter wardrobe because I’m always too busy to shop for clothes around at this time of year so I have made it my mission this year to invest in a lovely dress and you can’t beat a bit of smocking.

Person you spoke to?
Tiddlywinks the Elf, we have a morning debrief most days. She never fails to make me laugh.

Podcast you listened to?
I’m more of an audiobook kind of girl I’m afraid. The last one I listened to was Nigel Slater’s Christmas Chronicles which is comfort on a stick.

New brand you discovered?
Alma Frames. I love their wiggly frames. I’m never buying a straight frame again.

Film you watched at the cinema?
The Little Mermaid. My five year old son is still traumatised by Ursula.

TV series you watched at home?
The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, all five seasons of it. What an absolute joy of a program.

Restaurant you ate at?
Our local pub as a treat for getting through all our launch night orders.

Takeaway you ordered?
Now we are properly in the sticks I think our takeaway days might be over. A pheasant dropped out of the sky the other day and landed dead as a dodo on my lawn and when I expressed my horror to my husband he simply picked it up and said “that’s Sunday lunch sorted then”.

Book you read?
Signs; The secret language of the universe by Laura Lynn Jackson

Magazine you flicked through?
The Christmas edition of Country Living – we are in it which was just the loveliest surprise!

Country you visited?
Italy. We took Rose to Venice when she was two and we actually haven’t left the country since. Not a conscious decision but the reality of small business and small children. 

Town you walked around?
Cirencester

Time you cried?
A couple of weeks ago. We were at the end of a two week half term, the house was a tip, it was a Sunday morning, I hadn’t washed my hair, I was waist deep in Polar Post and suddenly my dad pitched up with a family friend to “give them a little tour of the house”. Their faces said it all.

Time you laughed until you cried?
Rose made me laugh so much the other night over something very silly. I love that children can do that.

Thing you do at night before switching off the light?
I love steam trains. Properly love them. Every night before bed I put my Calm App on and go off to sleep listening to one of their train journeys. I know, I’m wild. 

Meal you cooked?
Yikes, I haven’t cooked a meal since September. My husband is solely in charge of catering when Polar Post is on. Working like this requires a certain level of selfishness to be brutally honest. I’m looking forward to giving him a night off soon.

Cocktail you drank?
I only ever drink a Gin and Tonic. Total creature of habit.

Play you saw?
Crikey it must have been pre-children. That’s awful isn’t it?!

Thing you baked?
Cupcakes for the school Cake at Break.

Thing you burnt?
I love candles much to my husband’s dismay and have them burning all the time when we are doing Polar Post. I forgot that I’d left one on the other day and burnt a letter….

Time you said sorry?
I find myself saying sorry to the children a lot during these intense weeks. It’s easier now they are a little older because they know this bizarre way of living doesn’t last forever but still there are a lot of sorries wafting around at the moment.

Website you bookmarked?
I didn’t even know what bookmarking a website was until I read this.

Song you added to a playlist?
Amerie – Gotta Work. If I’m having a slump this song helps me to push on through it.

Person you kissed?
My husband

Travelled by bus?
I used to go everywhere by bus when we lived in London and I really miss it!

Radio station you listened to?
The elves listen to Magic. Of course.

Time you swore?
A few minutes ago. Elves swear like fish wives I’m afraid.

Biscuit you ate?
A custard cream that Tiddlywinks gave me from Knead. It was enormous and could have fed a family of mice for several weeks if not months.

Item of clothing you wore two days running?
My Sézane Betty cardigan. It’s the closest I get to feeling like I could be French which is secretly all I have ever wanted.

Thing you smelt?
My five year old’s mop of hair.

Time you said I love you?
To the said five year old as I dropped him off at school.