vibe check #15: 1000 rescued seals, Miriam Margolyes and a recipe featuring crisps
A dose of joy and motivation to get you through the week.
Hiya! How are things and how are you?
Things are feeling pretty heavy and turbulent at the moment, aren’t they? It all just feels like… a lot. It has also practically rained non-stop for the last two weeks in Amsterdam. And it’s been that heavy, noisy rain that interrupts conversations and plans. Ugh.
Therefore, this week’s Vibe Check felt like it needed to be a bumper one. I’ve included a few more doses of joy and motivation to get you through the week, with less of a pre-amble. It also includes a family recipe that involves two kinds of carb. I hope you enjoy.
Anyway, now onto the good stuff. Scroll down for this week’s three Vibe Check recommendations, on a mission to deliver a dose of joy and motivation to get you through the week.
READ
Lizzi Larbalestier is a volunteer for British Divers Marine Life Rescue who turned her Airbnb into a makeshift animal hospital so she could care for injured seals. She and her husband, along with many volunteers, have now built a fully functioning seal hospital in Cornwall, which has saved over 1000 seals off the British coast. Read here.
WATCH
Miriam Margolyes was a guest on the Dish podcast (hosted by DJ Nick Grimshaw and Michelin-star chef Angela Hartnett) this week and as with every appearance she ever makes, she was a ray of sunshine and big dose of the kind of laugh that makes you get your double chin out. Listen here.
LISTEN
Need some advice on repeat for how to embrace being yourself from Miriam Margolyes? Well here it is.
COOK
There are only three ingredients that can ever truly come to my rescue when I’m in need of comfort food. Cheese, tomato and some form of beige carb. When I was growing up and in need of comfort food, my dad would make us his tuna pasta bake. It’s your classic tuna, chopped tomatoes, stock, onions, seasoning, pasta combination, baked in an oven dish. But his twist is that before you add it into the dish, you line the base with a layer of cool original Doritos and grated cheese. Then you fill the dish halfway up and then add another layer of cool original Doritos and grated cheese. Then you fill the rest of the dish and then top it off with, unbelievably, one final layer of cool original Doritos and grated cheese – with a bit of paprika too. It’s truly divine. I once made it at a dinner party at uni and everyone mocked me, then tried it and asked me for the recipe. When things feel a bit hopeless, my dad still makes it for us.
JOIN
ICYMI, I’ve added a new section to this newsletter and it’s called Club Copycana. Next Monday, I’ll be hosting an online conversation with the epic copywriter Vikki Ross, where we’ll be diving into how we got our start in the world of copy, what it is to be a person who spends their days obsessing over the right words and what hurdles we’ve faced in their creative careers. You’ll need to be a paid subscriber to access the event and you can register to join us here.
DONATE
I’m just going to keep sharing this. The Red Cross urgently needs donations to help protect and save life in Gaza. If you, like me, are feeling at a total loss as to what else you could possibly do to help, you can donate here.
See you next week!
Em