Have you ever had laryngitis? I don’t recommend it, especially at Christmas. Talk about inconvenient. There’s nothing like losing your voice surrounded by family and friends especially for me, a Gemini. Not talking for me is like not breathing. It’s how I connect to people.

Google cautions that even whispering can further harm your vocal cords. Google didn’t stop there.  It also said no alcohol, no coffee, no dairy. On Christmas. With family. And then just to twist the knife it added, no crying.

So there I was, wishing I could cry about not being allowed to cry, but no. My kids teased me that we could play Charades and I could always be It. Hahhaha. Wait. Can I laugh?

Thank God for White Lotus. Like 4 million other Netflix viewers, it cheered me up to watch other miserable souls. I also got into Wordle, a gloriously silent game, only to discover that my son’s girlfriend was a Wordle-wiz. She grew up in Delhi and could get words like ‘belie’ and ‘pixie’ in three goes. We are a competitive family and I am a nasty loser.  I blamed Aashali’s wins on her schooling in India vs. America where I went to school and they definitely didn’t teach these words.

And in any case, I ranted on the group chat, no one uses these words now so they’re not really words. No one responded. I had sunk to new lows.

At the laryngitis specialist I visited, I was informed that in addition to treating normal humans, she also treated performing artists, like opera singers who needed to be able to sing in a few days. I nodded vigorously. Gave her a thumb’s up.  I, too, am an opera singer, I texted from two feet away. I left out in the shower.

Once armed with my new meds, I agreed to drink 10,000 cups of my friend Nancy Lichterman’s magical, but hardly delicious, homemade brew. If you’re an opera singer, like me, or just concerned about your vocal cord health, put turmeric, honey, fresh ginger, cinnamon and lemon in a teapot of hot water and drink it constantly. By New Year’s Eve, I was able to hoarsely utter phrases like “ola” and “buenos dias” which came in handy as I was heading to Mexico with Stretch.

Stay tuned for next week’s part II of my Christmas Holiday which includes my Insider’s Guide to Mexico and How to Get Along With Your Spouse When You Have No One Else to Talk To. And because I’m 60, a new weird illness that made me yearn for sea level.

January, 2023

The post Christmas Vacation Part I- Caring for Your Vocal Cords appeared first on Elena Bowes.

For Faith in Shopping by Grayson Perry,

City Gent by David Harrison

and Study for Eternal Movement by Idris Khan

Sale proceeds will go to support Little Sparta, the garden of Ian Hamilton Finlay.

Not a shopper? Culture and entertainment more your gig? Then read this in-depth article in Indagare about what’s hot in London now. Some highlights:

A million lights will twinkle along a new mile-long path at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew,

Winnie the Pooh will go

Bump, bump, bump

down the stairs and over to the Victoria & Albert Museum

and an Instagram-friendly, crazy, light installation by artist Alan Kane will take over the front entrance of Tate Britain Lights, Christmas, Action gets switched on at Tate next Saturday (Dec. 2). Happy Ho, Ho, Ho-ing!

November, 2017

The post London Lights Up At Christmas – appeared first on Elena Bowes.

And the next one down, doing what he does best.

And my youngest making a pumpkin pie.

I digress. A perk of me being writer AND editor, digressions are permitted, welcome in fact.

So where shall I get cracking for Christmas? I have chosen three London boutiques that don’t feel like shops at all, more like places designed to enchant and delight the visitor as much as the creator. First off is Tobias and the Angel in Barnes.

What started as a junk shop is going strong thirty years later. The interiors shop closes for five days every November and re-opens as Santa’s workshop with just two elves Angel Hughes and her helper Ludmilla creating this treasure trove of unique,  vintage Christmas decorations. The duo spend the year darning and knitting and glueing and sewing to make angels with lace petticoats , sugarplum fairies and dreams come true.

The shop sells themed party hats – the tramp, the gendarme, the spiv and the dunce –  multi-faceted stars and her “opus magnus” – the embroidered baubles, which are  such hard work that once finished, Angel never wants to see them again.

Turning an idea into a reality is so difficult, but it’s wonderful when it succeeds. I don’t know anyone who is creative who doesn’t face a blank page once in a while.

Fuzzy mohair is spun around wire for the Christmas trees and stuffed toys are knitted using 1940’s patterns.

Nothing is tacky. All is charming. Angel walked me through this maze of old-fashioned objects, telling me stories about  her childhood in Germany where Christmas was magical and very craft-driven. Inspired by her past, Angel uses a whole host of materials including old sequins, antique lace, red garnets, velvet, silk, linens, Chinese lanterns, damask  and Turkish  embroidery. Semi-precious stones are sourced from E-Bay, tin foil from a chocolate confectioner’s web site and fishermens’ weights find new life as seals to tag items.  Angel is nothing if not creative.

Another creative force is Peter Adler and his shop Pebble, located on the ground floor of his Sussex Gardens flat. He gives new meaning to the term “collector”.

Adler’s Cave is overrun with fabulous tribal necklaces from Rajistan (see me modelling it), eco-friendly coral sculptures from the Solomon Islands, beaded corsets from Sudan, a hunk of amethyst from Brazil and plenty more.

Adler began the shop nine years ago as an excuse to explore India. His wanderlust wandered. In January he’s visiting India, Thailand, Bali, Cambodia, Vietnam and possibly Burma with his girlfriend “who doubles up as assistant”.

Tom Ford, Donna Karan, Paloma Faith, Tory Burch, the top dogs at Etro, Ferragamo and Victoria’s Secret are just a few of Pebble’s fans. Here’s Kate Moss going ethnic a la Pebble.

Paloma Faith at the BAFTA’s adorned in a Pebble headdress.

Tate Britain borrowed 10 of Adler’s tribal flags for  Artist and Empire. Adler mentioned a few current huge (!!!) projects to me followed by “You can’t print that!” So frustrating! See if you can get Adler to open up at his annual Christmas sale this week (Dec 3rd-5th). Contact for details.

Going from the ridiculous to the sublime, check out the minimalist and gorgeous Egg on Belgravia back street Kinnerton Street.

Egg has just had its annual Christmas sale and it was a sell-out. Loyalists, yours truly included, were queuing outside the studio an hour before the doors opened and within minutes of them opening the place was jam packed. I snagged a few of Egg’s baby soft scarves in vibrant pinks, red and green.

A devout buy and dash shopper, I slow down to a crawl at Egg. Its white walls, calm blue palette, and quirky installation of cool clothes,  scattered art books, and styling add-ons like this old ladder

lure me in.

The staff are never pushy. Often they’re having tea or lunch with Doherty outside at this table,

leaving me free to browse.

There are shops. And then there are Shops. Happy Shopping.

November, 2015

The post Making Christmas Shopping Fun- It’s Possible appeared first on Elena Bowes.