A letter to our readers

Illustration by Rebecca Strickson 

Dear readers,

We love creating our print magazine for you, thank you so much for letting us into your lives.

We’re a small and dedicated team of writers and artists who work tirelessly to make Oh Comely a magazine that creates culture, speaks your stories, salutes sisterhood and makes you think and feel. We refuse to conform as we strive to abandon stereotypes and create a space for open and honest discussions. 

We appreciate you choosing to buy us. This is just a little note, to let you know our price has now increased from our Spring issue, as it’s no secret that it’s a struggle for print magazines to survive at the moment. Put simply, we want to continue creating a magazine that reflects what it means to be a woman in the world today. 

Thanks for enjoying the journey with us so far. 

We’d love you to:

• Introduce a friend to Oh Comely, buy them a copy as a surprise treat when you next meet. You can order from our shop at ohcomely.co.uk (postage in the UK is free) or pick up a copy in Sainsbury's

• Follow us @ohcomelymag on Instagram and Twitter, and like us on Facebook. Keep an eye out for our events, we love meeting you in person

• Share your love for Oh Comely on social and tag us so we can see it

We can’t wait for you to read our next issue, we’re working on some magic things for you. And we hope to bring you many more issues to come.

All our love

Alice, Frances, Cathy, Bre and Terri-Jane

The Oh Comely team

Illustration by Rebecca Strickson

Issue 42 playlist: the joy of spring

Illustration: Rachel Heavens

Spring is here – finally! Celebrate by plugging into our latest playlist – an ode to the season. We're dreaming of life amid Les Fleurs with Minnie Riperton or Grazing in the Grass with Hugh Maskela. And a shopping mall now covered in flowers a la Talking Heads? Yes please. You can take a listen – and get lost in a world of birds, bees and blossoms – here. 

Oh Comely issue 42 – spring – is out now. Order a copy here.

Support Oh Comely at Sainsbury's

Exciting news – Oh Comely's spring issue will be available in Sainsbury's for one month, between 12 April and 9 May. This is a trial for us and we hope to be stocked in more Sainsbury's more regularly in the future hopefully both reaching a wider audience with what we do and making it easier for you to pick up copies of the magazine. To help us do this, please try to buy your Oh Comely from one of the Sainsbury's below this month. You should find us hanging out by the newspapers.

Thank you x

A

ALNWICK: WILLOWBURN AVENUE NE66 2JH

ALTON: DRAYMANS WAY, ALTON GU34 1SS

ALTRINCHAM: LLOYD STREET WA14 2SU

ANDOVER

• 55–57 BRIDGE STREET SP10 1BG
• SHEPHERDS SPRING LANE SP10 1DL

ASHTON: WINTERSTOKE ROAD, ASHTON BS3 2NS

ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE: ASHTON MOSS RETAIL PARK OL6 7UB

ATTLEBOROUGH: HIGH STREET NR17 2EH

AYLESBURY: 13-19 BUCKINGHAM ST HP20 2LA

AYLESFORD: MILLS ROAD, QUARRY WOOD IND ESTATE,  AYLESFORD ME20 7NA

B

BALLYMENA: UNIT 1 BRAIDWATER RETAIL PARK BT42 3AG

BANGOR: SOUTH CIRCULAR ROAD  BT19 7HJ

BARKINGSIDE: 92-100 TANNERS LANE IG6 1QE

BARNWOOD: BARNETT WAY GL4 3RT

BASILDON: CRICKETERS RETAIL PARK, CRICKETERS WAY SS13 1SA

BASINGSTOKE

• WALLOP DRIVE, HATCH WARREN RG22 4TW
• 2 STATION MALL, TOWN CENTRE RG21 7DW

BATH: FROME ROAD, BATH BA2 5RE

BECKENHAM: SAINSBURY, 181 HIGH STREET, BECKENHAM  BR3 1AH

BELFAST

• FORESTSIDE SHOPPING CENTRE BT8 6FX
• HOLYWOOD EXCHANGE BT3 9ED
• KENNEDY CENTRE BT11 9AE

BICESTER: 23 CROWN WALK OX26 6FA

BIDDULPH: HIGH STREET ST8 6AR

BIGGLESWADE: BELLS BROCK SG18 0NA

BIRKENHEAD: 342A WOODCHURCH ROAD  CH42 8PQ

BIRMINGHAM

• 1149 WARWICK ROAD, ACOCKS GREEN B27 6RA
• POLE LANE, KINGS HEATH B14 5TN
• LONGBRIDGE LANE, LONGBRIDGE B31 2TW
• FRANKLEY BEECHES ROAD, NORTHFIELD B31 5AA
• MAYPOLE LANE, KINGS HEATH B14 5TN

BISHOPS STORTFORD: 1 THORLEY CENTRE, CM23 4EG

BLACKPOOL: RED BANK ROAD, BISPHAM, BLACKPOOL FY2 9HY

BLACKWATER: WATCHMOOR PARK GU15 3YN

BLETCHLEY: 27 THE CONCOURSE, BRUNEL CENTRE MK2 2ES

BOGNOR REGIS: SHRIPNEY ROAD PO22 9NF

BOLTON

• TRINITY STREET  BL3 6BY
• CRICKETERS WAY, WESTHOUGHTON BL5 3ZS

BOURNEMOUTH: CASTLEPOINT, CASTLE LANE WEST BH8 9UW

BRACKNELL

• BAGSHOT ROAD RG12 7SS
• PRINCESS SQUARE RG12 1DF

BRADFORD: 760 HARROGATE ROAD, GREENGATES BRADFORD BD10 0QF

BRAINTREE: 1 TOFTS WALK X CM7 1XH

BRENTWOOD: 51 WILLIAM HUNTER WAY CM14 4WQ

BRIDGWATER: THE CLINK TA6 4AB

BRIERLEY HILL: SANDRINGHAM WAY, AMBLECOTE DY5 3JR

BRIGHTON

• 27 NEW ENGLAND STREET BN1 4GQ
• 93 LEWES ROAD BN2 3QA

BRISTOL

• CLIFTON DOWN SH CENTRE,  WHITELADIES ROAD, CLIFTON BS8 2NN
• FOXDEN ROAD, STOKE GIFFORD BS34 8SS

BROMLEY: 1 WALTERS YARD, WEST STREET BR1 1QA

BUDE: THE HEADLAND,  CROOKLETS ROAD EX23 8ND

BURNLEY: OLD PRESTIGE WORKS, ACTIVE WAY BB11 1BS

BURTON ON TRENT: UNION STREET DE14 1AA

BURY ST EDMUNDS

• RECREATION WAY, MIDENHALL IP28 7HG
• MORETON HALL  IP32 7EJ

C

CAMBRIDGE

• 44 SIDNEY STREET, CB2 3HX
• 27 EDDINGTON AVENUE, CB3 1SE

CANLEY: 330 FLETCHAMSTEAD HIGHWAY CV4 9BJ

CANTERBURY: KINGSMEAD ROAD, KINGSMEAD CT1 1BW

CANVEY ISLAND: KNIGHTSWICK CENTRE  SS8 7AD

CARDIFF

• COLCHESTER AVENUE, ROATH, CF23 9XN
• THORNHILL CF14 9BB

CARLISLE: BRIDGE STREET, CARLISLE, CA2 5SX

CHADWELL HEATH: 97 131 HIGH ROAD RM6 6PB

CHEADLE: WIMSLOW ROAD SK8 3BB

CHELMSFORD: 2 WHITE HART LANE, SPRINGFIELD CM2 5PA

CHESTERFIELD: ROTHER WAY S41 0UB

CHELTENHAM: TEWKESBURY ROAD GL51 9RR

CHESHAM: 134-148 HIGH STREET HP5 1EF

CHICHESTER: QUEENSWAY PO19 7YR

CHRISTCHURCH: SOMERFORD ROUNDABOUT, 1 LYNDHURST ROAD BH23 4RY

CLACTON ON SEA: 39/43 HIGH STREET CO15 1NU

CLITHEROE: MOOR LANE, BB7 1BE

COBHAM: BRIDGE WAY KT11 1HW

COLCHESTER:  1 WESTERN APPROACH, STANWAY  CO3 8AA

COLERAINE: DUNHILL RD  BT51 3AW

COLNE: GROVE MILLS,  NORFOLK STREET BB8 9JH

COVENTRY: AUSTIN DRIVE, COURTHOUSE GREEN CV6 7NS

CRAIGAVON: RUSHMERE SHOPPING CENTRE BT64 1AA

COWLEY: TEMPLARS RETAIL PARK OX4 3JP

CRAMLINGTON: MANOR WALK, DUDLEY COURT, CRAMLINGTON NE23 6RT

CRAYFORD: STADIUM WAY DA1 4HW

CROYDON

• THE MALL, 19 WHITGIFT CENTRE, CR0 1UP
• 130 ADDINGTON ROAD CR2 8LA

CWMBRAN: LLEWELLYN ROAD NP44 1UL

D

DARLINGTON: 150 VICTORIA ROAD DL1 5SF

DARTFORD: THE PRIORY CENTRE, INSTONE ROAD DA1 2HS

DARTMOUTH: NELSON ROAD TQ6 9AH

DARWEN: HARDMAN WAY BB3 2AD

DAWLISH: SHUTTERTON BRIDGE, EXETER ROAD EX7 0LX

DEAL: 36-38 WEST STREET CT14 6AH

DERBY

• 2 - 6 COPECASTLE SQUARE, EAGLE CENTRE DE1 2AZ
• CIVIC WAY DE11 0AD
• KINGSWAY RETAIL PARK, KINGSWAY DE22 3FA
• OSMASTON PARK ROAD DE24 8EB
• WYVERN BUSINESS PARK, CHADDESDEN SIDINGS, DE21 6NZ

DEWSBURY: RAILWAY STREET WF12 8EB

DONCASTER: 15 SOUTH MALL, FRENCHGATE CENTRE  DN1 1TT

DRONFIELD: WREAKES LANE S18 1PN

DUNGANNON: OAKS ROAD BT71 4NA

DUNSTABLE: 28 LUTON ROAD LU5 4RF

DURHAM: ARNISON CENTRE, PITY ME DH1 5GD

DURSLEY: CASTLE STREET GL11 4BS

E

EASTBOURNE: BROADWATER WAY, HAMPDEN PARK BN22 9PW

EAST KILBRIDE: 3 KINGSGATE RETAIL PARK, GLASGOW ROAD        G74 4UN

EASTLEIGH: LEIGH ROAD SO50 9FH

EDINBURGH

• 185 CRAIGLEITH ROAD, EDINBURGH  EH4 2EB
• 39 WESTFIELD ROAD, EDINBURGH  EH11 2QW
• MEADOWBANK RETAIL PARK MORAY PARK  EH7 5TS
• AMERON TOLL SHOPPING CENTRE,  6 LADY ROAD EH16 5PB
• INGLIS GREEN ROAD, EDINBURGH EH14 2ER

EXETER: 1 HILL BARTON ROAD EX1 3PF

F

FARNBOROUGH: 6 QUEENS MEAD GU14 7GL

FARNHAM: WATER LANE GU9 9NJ

FAVERSHAM: BYSINGWOOD ROAD ME13 7UD

FOLKESTONE: 5 BOUVERIE ROAD WEST CT20 2RX

G

GARSTANG: PARK HILL ROAD PR3 1EL

GILLINGHAM: HEMPSTEAD VALLEY  SHOPPING CENTRE ME7 3PA

GRANTHAM: LONDON ROAD NG31 6HJ

GRAVSEND: WINGFIELD BANK, NORTHFLEET DA11 8JH

GRAYS: BURGHLEY ROAD, CHAFFORD HUNDRED RM16 6QQ

GREAT YARMOUTH: ST. NICHOLAS ROAD NR30 1NN

H

HALIFAX: WADE STREET HX1 1SB

HALSTEAD: 48 HIGH STREET CO9 2JB

HAMILTON: HAMILTON RETAIL PARK, DOUGLAS PARK ML3 0BN

HAMPTON: 303 UXBRIDGE ROAD TW12 1AW

HARLOW: FIFTH ALLENDE AVENUE CM20 2AG

HARROGATE: WETHERBY ROAD HG2 8QZ

HAVERHILL: HANCHETT END  CB9 7RP

HAYES: LOMBARDY RETAIL PARK, COLDHARBOUR LANE UB3 3EX

HAYWARDS HEATH: BANNISTER WAY RH16 1DG

HEDON: HULL ROAD HU12 8DJ

HITCHIN: WHINBUSH ROAD SG5 1PU

HELSTON: CLODGEY LANE TR13 0QA

HERTFORD: HARTHAM LANE SG14 1RG

HESSLE: SAINSBURY WAY HU13 9NS

HIGH WYCOMBE: OXFORD ROAD HP11 2DN

HINCKLEY: 20 RUGBY ROAD LE10 0QD

HORNCHURCH: 101-105 HIGH STREET RM11 1TX

HUDDERSFIELD: 22-24 MARKET STREET HD1 2ET

HUNTINGDON: ST GERMAIN WALK PE29 3FG

HYTHE: MILITARY ROAD  CT21 5BH

I

ILFORD: 55 RODEN STREET IG1 2AA

IPSWICH   

• FELIXSTOWE ROAD IP3 8TQ
• 40 HADLEIGH ROAD IP2 0BX

IRVINE: AYR ROAD KA12 8BH

K

KEIGHLEY: SAINSBURYS CENTRE CAVENDISH STREET BD21 3RU

KELSO: PINNACLEHILL INDUSTRIAL ESTATE  TD5 8DW

KENILWORTH: WARWICK ROAD CV8 1HN

KENTON: KENTON ROAD HA3 0JA

KIDDERMINSTER: 2 CARPET WAY DY11 6XP

KIRKCALDY: CHAPEL LEVEL KY2 6QL

KIRKINTILLOCH: 6 SHAMROCK STREET TOWNHEAD G66 1NR

L

LEATHERHEAD: 23 SWAN COURT KT22 8AH

LEEK: MACCLESFIELD ROAD ST13 8YG

LEICESTER: GLEN ROAD, OADBY LE2 4PE

LEIGH: PARSONAGE RETAIL PARK, PARSONAGE WAY WN7 5SJ

LETCHWORTH: 3RD AVENUE, LETCHWORK BUSINESS PARK  SG6 2HX

LINCOLN: TRITTON ROAD LN6 7QN

LINLITHGOW: FALKIRK ROAD LINLITHGOW BRIDGE EH49 7PE

LIPHOOK: MIDHURST ROAD GU30 7TW

LISBURN: SPRUCEFIELD BT27 5UJ

LITTLEHAMPTON:

• 19-27 HIGH STREET BN17 5EG
• RUSTINGTON RETAIL PARK, RUSTINGTON BN16 3RT

LOANHEAD: STRAITON MAINS, STRAITON EH20 9PW

LONDON        

EAST

• 13 HALL LANE, CHINGFORD E4 8HH
• 66 KINGSLAND SHOPPING, DALSTON E8 2LX
• 2-10 MYRTLE ROAD, EAST HAM  E6 1HU
• WILLIAMSON ROAD, HARINGAY N4 1UJ
• KING GEORGE AVENUE, NEWBURY PARK IG2 7SH
• 1 THE BREWERY, ROMFORD RM1 1AU
• HIGH STREET, WALTHAMSTOW E17 7BX
• 1 CAMBRIDGE HEATH ROAD, WHITECHAPEL  E1 5SD
• 176 GEORGE LANE, SOUTH WOODFORD, E18 1AY

NORTH

• THE BROADWAY SHOPPING CENTRE, STATION ROAD, EDGWARE HA8 7BQ
• LIVERPOOL ROAD, ISLINGTON N1 0RW
• 836-852 HIGH ROAD,  NORTH FINCHLEY N12 9RE
• 28-48 NORTHUMBERLAND PARK, TOTTENHAM N17 0TX
• HIGHLANDS VILLAGE, HIGHLANDS AVENUE,  WINCHMORE HILL  N21 1UJ

SOUTH

• 147-151 BALHAM HIGH ROAD, BALHAM SW12 9AU
• 1 MERTON HIGH STREET, COLLIERS WOOD SW19 1DD
• 66 WESTOW ST, CRYSTAL PALACE SE19 3AF
• 40 NEW KENT ROAD, ELEPHANT & CASTLE SE1 6TJ
• 1A PHILIPOT PATH, ELTHAM SE9 5DL
• 80 DOG KENNEL HILL,  EAST DULWICH SE22 8BB
• 34-48 LONDON ROAD, FOREST HILL SE23 3HF
• UNIT 17, FULHAM BROADWAY RETAIL CENTRE SW6 1BW
• 27 TOWNMEAD ROAD, FULHAM SW6 2GD
• 33-34 LONDON ROAD MORDEN SM4 5HT
• 158-162 HIGH STREET, PENGE SE20 7QS
• 122 WHITEHORSE LANE, SELHURST SE25 6RA
• 158A CROMWELL ROAD, SOUTH KENSINGTON SW7 4EJ
• 480 STREATHAM HIGH ROAD, STREATHAM SW16 3PY
• HIGH STREET,  SUTTON SM1 1LB
• SOUTHEND LANE, SYDENHAM, SE26 4PU
• 99 WILTON ROAD, VICTORIA SW1V 1DT
• 62 WANDSWORTH ROAD, WANDSWORTH SW8 2LF
• 25 CALDERWOOD STREET, WOOLWICH SE18 6QW

WEST

• 12 BARTERS WALK, PINNER HA5 5LU
• LONG DRIVE, RUISLIP HA4 0HQ
• MELBOURNE AVENUE, WEST EALING W13 9BZ

LONDONDERRY: 150 STRAND RD BT48 7TL

LOUGHBOROUGH: 135 GREEN CLOSE LANE LE11 5AS

LUTON: 34 DUNSTABLE ROAD, LUTON LU1 1DY

LYMM: RUSHGREEN ROAD WA13 9QP

LYTHAM ST. ANNES: ST ANDREWS ROAD NORTH, FY8 2DH

M

MACCLESFIELD: 61 CUNMBERLAND STREET, CHESHIRE SK10 1BJ

MAIDENHEAD: PROVIDENCE PLACE SL6 8AG

MAIDSTONE: ROMNEY PLACE  ME15 6SF

MANCHESTER

• 347 WILMSLOW ROAD, FALLOWFIELD M14 6SX
• OLDHAM STREET, DENTON M34 3SJ
• 170 HEATON PARK RD, WEST HIGHER BLACKLEY M9 0QS
• EDEN SQUARE SHOPPING CENTRE, GOLDEN WAY, URMSTON M41 0NA

MANSFIELD: MANSFIELD RETAIL PARK, NOTTINGHAM ROAD NG18 1BW

MARCH: MILL VIEW, CREEK ROAD PE15 8RE

MARKET HARBOROUGH: ST. MARYS PLACE LE16 7DR

MATLOCK: CAWDOR QUARRY DE4 3SP

MELKSHAM: BATH ROAD, SN12 6LL

MIDDLESBROUGH: 32 WILSON STREET TS1 1RP

MILTON KEYNES: 799 WITAN GATE MK9 2FW

N

NAIRN: BALMAKEITH RETAIL PARK, FORRES ROAD IV12 5QW

NEWBURY: KINGS ROAD RG14 5AB

NEWCASTLE

• ELEVENTH AVENUE, TEAM VALLEY TRAD EST NE11 0JY
• GOSFORTH SHOPPING CENTRE, GREAT NORTH ROAD, GOSFORTH NE3 1JZ
• NEWBURN ROAD, THROCKLEY NE15 9AF

NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME: ASHFIELD NEW ROAD ST5 2AF

NEWPORT: FOXES ROAD PO30 5ZB

NEWQUAY: FORE STREET TR7 1NF

NEWRY: THEQUAYS, ALBERT BASIN BT35 8QS

NORTH WALSHAM: MUNDESLEY ROAD NR28 0DB

NORTHAMPTON: 15 PRINCESS WALK, GROSVENOR CENTRE NN1 2EW

NOTTINGHAM

• PERRY ROAD NG5 1HH
• MANSFIELD ROAD, ARNOLD NG5 6BN
• GREENS LANE, KIMBERLEY NG16 2LY

NORWICH: 

• POUND LANE NR7 0SR
• WILLIAM FROST WAY NEW COSTESSEY NR5 0JS

NUNEATON: VICARIDGE STREET CV11 4XS

O

OADBY: GLEN ROAD LE2 4PE

OLDHAM: 60 UNION STREET OL1 1DJ

ORPINGTON

• 5-7 THE WALNUTS, HOMEFIELD RISE BR6 0TW
• 19 PALLANT WAY LOCKSBOTTOM BR6 8NZ

OTTERY ST MARY: HIGH STREET EX11 1ET

OXFORD

• HEYFORD HILL OX4 4XR
• 21 WESTGATE OX1 1NX
• OXFORD ROAD, KIDLINGTON OX5 2PE

P

PENRITH: 1 COMMON GARDEN SQUARE CA11 7FG

PENZANCE: EASTERN GREEN TR18 3AP

PERTON: ANDERS SQUARE, COVERIDGE DRIVE WV6 7QE

PETERBOROUGH

• FLAXLAND, BRETTON PE3 8DA
• 112 OXNEY RD, EASTFIELD PE1 5NG

PLYMOUTH: 23 ARMADA WAY, MAYFLOWER STREET PL1 1LE

PONSHARDEN: OFF FALMOUTH ROAD TR11 2RZ

PONTYPRIDD: BROWN LENNOX RETAIL PARK, TNYSANGHARD ROAD CF37 4DA

POOLE

• 4 ALDER PARK, ALDER ROAD  BH12 4BA
• 11 PITWINES CLOSE BH15 1XU

PORTISHEAD: GORDANO GATE BUSINESS PARK, SERBERT CLOSE   BS20 7FS

PORTSMOUTH

• 315 COMMERCIAL ROAD PO1 4BS
• FITZHERBERT ROAD,  FARLINGTON PO6 1RR

POTTERS BAR: 7 SAINSBURY CENTRE, DARKES LANE EN6 1AZ

PRESTON: CUERDEN WAY, BAMBER BRIDGE PR5 6BJ

PULBOROUGH: STANE STREET, CODMORE HILL RH20 1BQ

R

RAMSGATE: WESTWOOD CROSS, DADSON WAY CT12 5FJ

READING: BATH ROAD RG31 7SA

REDDITCH: ALVECHURCH HIGHWAY, ABBEY TRADING ESTATE B97 6RF

RICHMOND: LOWER RICHMOND ROAD TW9 4LT

RINGWOOD: UNIT 2, MEETING HOUSE LANE BH24 1EY

RIPLEY: BUTTERLEY PARK, NOTTINGHAM ROAD DE5 3AS

RUGBY: 385 DUNCHURCH ROAD CV22 6HU

S

SALISBURY: 33 THE MALTINGS SP1 1BD

SCARBOROUGH: GALLOWS CLOSE, FALSGRAVE ROAD, YO12 5EA

SCUNTHORPE: DONCASTER ROAD, OLD SHOW GROUND DN15 7DE

SEDGEFIELD: SALTERS LANE TS21 3EE

SELBY: 18 ABBEY WALK  YO8 4DZ

SEVENOAKS: OTFORD ROAD, TN14 5EG

SHEFFIELD 

• CLAYWHEELS LANE S6 1LY
• ARCHER ROAD, MILLHOUSES S8 0TD
• ECKINGTON WAY, CRYSTAL PEAKS S20 7PQ

SHREWSBURY: MEOLE BRACE RETAIL PARK, HEREFORD ROAD SY3 9NB

SLEAFORD: 3 SOUTHGATE SHOPPING CENTRE NG34 7PD

SLOUGH

• 78 UXBRIDGE ROAD  SL1 1SU
• 149-153 FARNHAM ROAD SL1 4XP

SOLIHULL: POPLAR WAY  B91 3BX

SOUTHAMPTON:

• PORTSWOOD BUS DEPOT, PORTSWOOD ROAD SO17 2LB
• SUPERSTORE 1, LORDSHILL DISTRICT CENTRE SO16 8HY
• 412-414 BITTERNE ROAD, BITTERNE VILLAGE SO18 5RS
• HEDGE END: TOLLBAR WAY, HEDGE END SO30 2UH

SOUTHEND-ON-SEA: 45 LONDON ROAD SS1 1PL

SOUTHPORT: ST. GEORGES PLACE, LORD STREET PR9 0AF

SPALDING: HOLLAND MARKET  PE11 1DA

STAFFORD: CHELL ROAD, STAFFORDSHIRE ST16 2TF

STAINES: THE CAUSEWAY TW18 3AP

ST ALBANS:

• BARNET ROAD, COLNEY AL2 1BG
• EVERHARD CLOSE AL1 2QU

STAMFORD: MARKHAM RETAIL PARK, RYHALL ROAD  PE9 1UG

STEVENAGE: COREYS MILL, HITCHIN ROAD SG1 4AE

ST LEONARDS-ON-SEA:  JOHN MACADAM WAY TN37 7SQ

STOCKPORT

• WARREN STREET SK1 1UB
• LONDON ROAD, HAZEL GROVE SK7 4AW

STOKE ON TRENT:ETRURIA ROAD, HANLEY ST1 5SA

STREET: Gravenchon Way BA16 0HS

STROUD: DUDBRIDGE ROAD GL5 3HG

SUDBURY: 66 CORNARD ROAD CO10 2XB

SUNDERLAND: RIVERSIDE ROAD, WESSINGTON WAY SR5 3JG

SUTTON COLDFIELD: MERE GREEN ROAD,  MERE GREEN  B75 5BT

SWINDON: OXFORD ROAD SN3 4EW

T

TADLEY: 30 MULFORDS HILL, TADLEY RG26 3JE

TAPLOW: LAKE END ROAD SL6 0QH

TAUNTON: HANKRIDGE WAY TA1 2LR

TELFORD: FORGE RETAIL PARK,  COLLIERS WAY TF3 4AG

TENBY: TENBY UPPER PARK ROAD,  UPPER PARK SA70 7LT

TORPOINT: ANTONY ROAD PL11 2JW

TROWBRIDGE: BRITISH ROW BA14 8GF

TRURO: TREYEW ROAD TR1 3XL

W

WAKEFIELD

• TRINITY WALK MARSH WAY WF1 3LJ
• 50 INGS ROAD WF1 1RS

WALTHAM CROSS: 72 SHOPPING PAVILLION, HIGH STREET EN8 7BZ

WALLINGTON: STAFFORD ROAD  SM6 9AA

WALTON: RICE LANE, CAVENDISH DRIVE L9 1HW

WANTAGE: LIMBOROUGH ROAD  OX12 9AJ

WARLEY: FREETH STREET, OLDBURY B69 3DB

WARRINGTON

• 100 CHURCH STREET WA1 2TN
• SANTA ROSA BLVD, GREAT SANKEY WA5 3AG

WASHINGTON: THE GALLERIES, TYNE AND WEAR NE38 7RU

WATERLOOVILLE: HAMMLEDON ROAD PO7 7UL

WELLINGBOROUGH: 260 NORTHAMPTON ROAD NN8 3GZ

WELWYN GARDEN CITY: 44 CHURCH ROAD AL8 6PS

WESTON-SUPER-MARE: NORTH WORLE SHOPPING CENTRE, QUEENSWAY  BS22 6BL

WEST WICKHAM: 163-164 WICKHAM HIGH STREET BR4 0LU

WHITSTABLE: REEVES WAY, OFF THANET WAY, CHESFIELD CT5 3QS

WHITBY: STAINSACRE LANE YO22 4PU

WHITCHURCH: LONDON ROAD SY13 1NJ

WHITLEY BAY: NEWSTEADS DRIVE, MONKSEATON NE25 9EX

WIGAN: WORTHINGTON WAY, MARUS BRIDGE WN3 6XA

WILMSLOWL 67 ALDERLEY ROAD SK9 1NX

WINCHESTER: BADGER FARM ROAD SO22 4QB

WIRRAL: BROOK STREET, NESTON CH64 9AR

WITNEY: WITTAN WAY OX28 4FF

WOKING: REDDING WAY KNAPHILL GU21 2QT

WOKINGHAM: WINNERSH CROSSROADS, READING ROAD RG41 5AR

WOLVERHAMPTON: HEATH MILL ROAD, WOMBOURNE WV5 8AQ

WORCESTER: WORCESTER ST JOHNS, SWANPOOL WALK WR2 4EL

WORKSOP: HIGHGROUNDS ROAD RHODESIA S80 3AT

WORTHING: DOWNLAND BUSINESS PARK, LYONS WAY BN14 9LA

Y

YARM: 88 HIGH STREET TS15 9AP

YORK

• FOSS BANK, YO31 7JB
• THE BALK, POCKLINGTON YO42 2GG

Sunday Reading: Thread

words lydia higginson

photo janina fleckhaus

My inner seamstress has a way of putting the world to rights. Although I didn’t know it at the time, she was there, helping me carve out shapes and stitches as I sat in my freezing cold studio making a coat from heavy herringbone wool. It took me five days to cut and sew that coat and cover it in rich embellishment. In threads of forest green and maroon, shimmering ochre and gold, embroidery spans the length of my spine. At its centre is a golden cross. That cross marks the place behind my heart where fertile veins of creativity run deep. It also marks the point where the end of a gun was pressed up against my back during a brutal assault.

I made that coat in the depths of winter. Being stripped and sexually assaulted made me completely disconnect from my body – I wanted to re-dress myself. Over the cold days and nights, I created quilted jumpers, turquoise silk lingerie and jumpers from cashmere. When the spring came, I started making flowing skirts, denim jeans and softly tailored shirts. As spring turned to summer, I wanted to wear wild printed jumpsuits and sporty silk bomber jackets, so I made some of those too.

Then leaves started to fall and my sewing slowed down but never completely ground to a halt. I continued to create lace knickers, simple camisoles and wideleg culottes. As the year drew to a close and winter once again set in, I hunkered down in front of my sewing machine and made floral cords, a furry gilet, leggings printed with the beauty of the cosmos and another embroidered coat, this time with a dusty pink, cosy velvet hood. Over the year, my inner seamstress spent over 1,000 hours designing and creating the clothes I’ve always wanted to wear – over 60 garments. All the clothes I’d ever bought from shops have been given away and the only ones I wear are ones that I have made myself.

Making my own clothes was my way of feeling strong and alive again. It allowed my body to heal from five years of holding on to trauma. After being assaulted, I was desperately seeking a way to breathe colour, movement, texture and sensuality back in to my life and, when I wear garments that I have stitched from scratch, my body feels realigned on its natural creative compass. My healing armour made of silk and lace and cashmere.

Creating my wardrobe afresh – sleeves, collars, cuffs – wasn’t only a process of recovery. It was also one of discovery. Of my seamstress inside who had just been waiting to be given a needle and thread. Passionate, creative and tactile, I need my seamstress to face life. It feels like she has been stitching away since the beginning of time – I just drop into her rhythm for a while when I’m sat at my machine or have a thimble on my finger. She’s helped me to create beauty from brutality. When I’m in touch with my seamstress, I feel able to be the woman I want to be – dressed in a wardrobe I’ve stitched from energy, time and golden thread. 

Lydia has recently launched Threadworks in London – a space for fashion and textile artists in the week and a place to learn new sewing skills at the weekend. You can support their Crowdfunding project here. If you're a print designer, pattern cutter, embroiderer, weaver, seamstress, tailor, costume designer or small fashion brand that might be looking for space, get in touch via the Threadworks website. 

'Thread' was originally published in Oh Comely issue 37, featuring three more personal stories of touch. Pick up a copy here. 

Life without mum

Pregnant with her first baby, writer Victoria Watts Kennedy reflects on life without her mother

“It’s thirty-three years since this photo of my mother was taken; and I’m now pregnant with my first. The books like to tell me this is a time when Mum and I will enjoy a new closeness as we bond over being mothers – words that make me throw the book, cry or simply sigh the unending grief of living without her.

“My Mum was a midwife, a job she loved and cherished. I remember when I was little, prized days were the ones when she would  come home from work with a Bounty pack, filled with coveted mum-to-be treats that I lavished upon my dolls. I got one of those packs last week, 30 years later, collected from a stranger in Boots, and the first time I really needed one.

“I want to ask Mum my first word, how long her labour lasted, did she get stretch marks, how did I sleep, what were her tricks? The questions rise every day. Family and friends give fragments, but the portrait has been lost. My Dad, the man behind the camera, has also left this life. He was 44, and Mum 51, when life slipped away. Alcoholism and MS: the greatest thieves from my story.

“Illness and loss cast shadows on my teens and twenties, but life when little was light and filled with memories that pregnancy likes to jog: the holidays we took, the jokes we made and the little trio the three of us formed. My parents were fun, kind and loving; the perfect recipe for grandparents.

“Grief is something that never goes away. It ebbs and flows from the bearable to the intense. Big days are hard – weddings, Christmas, anniversaries – but then there’s the little, unexpected moments – a gesture, a smell, a word – that cut down to the feeling’s rawness. Pregnancy has both – the bigness and the everyday – I yearn for my parents’ presence.

“But yearning and wishing can’t bring a person back. My baby will know my parents only through stories and the legacy of what they made me to be. Their absence in body is heartbreaking, and on days the solace is bitter. But when solace is the only option, there have to be days when you discover its sweetness. Not a day goes by when I don’t miss my parents, but equally, not a moment goes by when I don’t feel lucky to have had them. I see them in me, I feel them in me, I carry them forever with me. I have that same smile on my face as my Mum in the photo. And that’s how my baby will know his grandparents: through their imprints left on me.”

Victoria blogs at bridgesandballoons.com. Read the results from our Mothers' Day survey here.

How you feel about your mothers: your responses

In our early spring issue, we explored our relationship with our mothers – and we invited you to respond to our survey. We were overwhelmed by your response, and the personal stories that you shared with us. 

More than half of you said that your relationship with your mother couldn’t be better and 65% of you are in contact with your mum several times a week, with over a third in daily contact.

Only 7% felt your mums would be disappointed if you didn’t pursue a career, kids, marriage and owning a home. In fact, almost half of you said that your mother’s biggest expectation was having a career. However, a fifth said that you felt that your mothers expect you to dress and look a certain way.

"I'm one of the lucky ones. My mum doesn't put pressure on me to live up to expectations."

"She is already disappointed."   

"I was never pressured to live a certain way but I think my mam is proud of how my life has turned out."

"I hope I make her proud. That is my goal in honouring her life!"

"She has no expectations, but would prefer me to stay single."

More than half of mums let boyfriends/girlfriends stay over, two thirds were allowed to drink at home, while 6% were allowed to try drugs. Less than a quarter were allowed to party without their parents around.

"I think I’ll do a lot of things differently, partly because I have a little boy. I want to give him a much better understanding of relationships and boundaries than I had."

"Mum was really easy going but because I was ill it didn't really affect me because I didn't really drink or party. When I got better I did and the impression I get even now is that she feels relieved when I talk about drinking and going out because she knows it means I'm well. I'm probably the only person who can say their mum reacted to me coming home drunk with "you look happy".

"My mum is in her 70s so it was a very different time for her as a young woman/mother. I am much more open minded and have experienced a lot more that I look forward to educating my little boy about"

However there are some indications that there are certain subjects that mothers and daughters don’t talk about. More than a third’s mothers told them nothing about sex or periods, half never discussed sexism. 75% of those daughters felt this was a mistake.

"Sexism is a really important social issue and as a woman, I feel like it should have been addressed further."

"She just seemed to accept it, which I disagree with. It's something that should be confronted and fought."

"She saw my interest in feminism from a young age and fuelled it with literature."

 "She took it as just the way things were"

"Her opinions changed as I was growing up and experiencing it myself. Her attitude to catcalling turned from, 'it's harmless and best to ignore it' to anger at hearing the things that were shouted at me on the street. We grew our understanding together in a way."

"I've always been able to talk to my mum about anything. I've always been very grateful for that as I have friends who can't speak to their Mum like I can. Even at times when she didn't want to listen, I knew I could say it anyway. Ask her anything." 

Thank you for your honesty and thoughtfulness in sharing your thoughts and memories on this topic – they showed how close, complicated and ever-changing our relationships with our mothers can be. We hope to further explore the ideas and subjects raised in future issues of Oh Comely. 

"Whilst a strong capable women in many ways, she was crippingly shy and would not stand up for herself in work situations or with my dad. I never learnt how to defend myself in situations because I didn't know how. It's made me vunerable in my adult life, although finally I'm much better at standing up for myself now – but it's taken therapy to learn that."

"As my mom passed away so recently she has been on my mind. She had Alzheimer's and was in long term care for the past year. It is indeed a long goodbye. She is a precious treasure, my best friend, my biggest cheerleader and confidant. I will miss her every day."

"I think my mum treated my older brothers like 'adults' when they were 21, but she doesn't treat me the same. My body is her business, in way that theirs aren't. I love her, and she is simply a different generation but I find it so frustrating."

"I absolutely hope to be at least HALF the woman that my mother is. She is an amazing, courageous, smart woman, and I am so lucky to have her as my mother and my best friend & mentor <3"

"She's also the one person in my life who has consistently told me I don't have to have children if I don't want to. Whilst my boyfriends mum is so pushy about it. My Mum has given me the strength to say I'm not where I want to be in my career yet and even admit I'm not sure kids are in my future."

"My mother died in 2013 when the phone rings on a Sunday morning, when I'm still in bed, I still think it's her. We had a very close relationship and she was always there when I needed her. Although I miss her a lot I feel a part of me hadn't grown-up when she was around, maybe because I still lived locally. I do see her some days when I look in the mirror and occasionally when I'm with my boys I feel I'm channelling her, not always in a good way."

"My Mum is the most beautiful woman in world but has always worried about her weight.  This used to upset me as a child and still does.  To all the Mum's out there, you are beautiful."

"Not all mums are good at being mums, some are really abusive and neglectful. Mothers' Day means so many websites and magazines covering schmaltzy stories about how great mums are, how not just for once cover the stories of people who've grown up without a mum? Not all mums are great, mine wasn't and for that reason I work hard at being the best mum I can, I have that to thank her for."

"My mum is so tender and treats me like I am precious to her, even while she champions my independence and strength of character. I will never be as wonderful a person as her.

For our press release about our Mother's Day survey, click here. Read Oh Comely writer's reflections on our relationships with our mums in our early spring issue. 

#feedme breastfeeding in public

#FEEDME is a photo series of women breastfeeding on the go, in public places across landmark locations in London – including the V&A, Portobello Market, Brick Lane and Tate. Over a hundred mothers volunteered to take part, to vocalise the positivity of public breastfeeding.

#FEEDME was curated by online gallery avenirart.com (you can view the exhibition in its entirety on their website), portraits by Agatha A. Nitecka and Robert Appleton of RÅN studio and the exhibition is in aid of the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers.

Laura Dockrill's power fresh green pesto

Portrait: Liz Seabrook

“Look at that! You get to pour your own chocolate in here.” Laura Dockrill is marvelling as she spirals her jug of warm, dark drinking chocolate into the awaiting mug of frothy milk. “It’s so good!” For a moment, it feels like we’re in Laura’s new young adult book, Big Bones, whose heroine, Bluebell, just loves her food: whether crumpets leaking with butter, salty caramel slathered millionaires shortbread or chips so vinegary that they make your nose hairs shrivel. 

In our early spring issue, we had the pleasure of speaking to writer Laura Dockrill. Her new book Big Bones – out today - celebrates the pleasure in eating. As Laura says, “There’s no such thing as a perfect body but there can be a perfect meal and you can enjoy that”. Needless to say, it made the entire team very hungry indeed. Laura was kind enough to share her favourite recipe for pesto. 

Laura Dockrill's fresh green pesto recipe

Big Bones is not just a love letter to food and the body; it is also to show how rewarding it is to cook and eat. It doesn’t have to be hard or fussy or posh or embarrassing to cook. I want to inspire people, kids, to enjoy food. And so the recipe I’ve chosen to share is simple, quick, easy to make, fragrant, vibrant and versatile and can turn any cheap carby comforting canvas into a wholesome meal that looks and tastes impressive. It’s the way I like to cook. Messy and natural. And if you are able to grab, rip, squeeze, pinch and smush you can make this without even touching a flame or a knob of the oven!

I made this for my partner Hugo, after a lot of beer, smothered over pasta. He said, “oh my god, this is the best meal I’ve ever had.” (No, it was not the beer talking) and he is not one tincy bit interested in cooking, but this is something he can now whizz up himself in under a minute and saves the day every time.

It lasts and it’s so much better and tastier and cheaper and vividly GREENER than the jarred stuff.

FRESH GREEN PESTO

You will need:

one massive handful of basil stalks and everything (or I just use one of those whole bags you can buy individually from the supermarket)

big glug of olive oil the better the olive oil the better it will taste

parmesan the best thing about this is because the pesto gets smushed up you don’t have to fiddle around with the small fiddly bit of the grater!

juice of a whole lemon

sea salt and pepper

*optional toasted pine nuts

All you have to do is simply bring all of this together. Use a Nutri Bullet or blender if you have one for a 30 second smooth sauce or you could bash it up in the pestle and mortar or hand mix for something chunkier.

The thing I love about this is you can add as you go, more lemon for acidity, no pine nuts for pasta for something smoother, add nibs of toasted walnuts or pecans for a salad, a handful of spinach for extra green and goodness and chilli flakes work well too.

Then stir into hot pasta, smear over hot roast potatoes, drizzle over a green salad, slather over bread for a toasted cheese sandwich. A great invention are those Jus-Rol puff pastry sheets, you can smear this homemade wonder over a sheet of this stuff and accessorize with olives, sun dried tomato, artichoke, mozzarella for an impressive pizza/tart or roll into little swirls for a snack that makes you look SO FANCY! You could add to yoghurt or houmous for dipping (which is also super easy to make), top over roasted vegetables or just stuff it in the corner of a lunch box and visit with bread or whatever’s in there like a little pesto watering hole.

Big Bones by Laura Dockrill is published by Hot Key books and is out today. And pick up a copy of our early spring issue to read the full interview with Laura. 

What My Girlfriends Told Me

What My Girlfriends Told Me is a gorgeously illustrated book that celebrates female friendship, filled with laugh-out-loud anecdotes and totally relatable advice. Wisdom from women who have lived...  Compiled by artist Sonja Bajic who has spent her life collecting lovely little phrases, good stories, text messages and margin notes to create a treasure trove of words inspired by family, friends and women she has met along the way... 

What My Girlfriends Told Me is full of relatable advice for times of heartache or uncertainty, long nights and new beginnings. It’s a joyful reminder that there’s nothing more powerful than a group of women sharing their wisdom, laughter and love with each other. 

You can order your copy from: septemberpublishing.org

Legally Black redesigns iconic film posters

Iconic film posters have been redesigned to feature an all-black cast and put up on south London streets by a campaign group called Legally Black... 

Four "advocates of social justice" from south west London have joined forces to combat the way black people are portrayed in the media by forming their project Legally Black. The aim of Legally Black is to increase awareness about the lack of black representation in the media and create dialogue and discussion around inaccurate and harmful depictions.

Their first visual campaign replaces characters from famous white dominant TV programmes with black people, with posters now dotted around south London. The campaign also features the tagline: “If you’re surprised, it means you don’t see enough black people in major roles,” encapsulating the meaning at the heart of project.

"Black kids can be wizards too" says Olivia, who is playing Hermione Granger in a Harry Potter poster in this BBC video.

You can find our more on their website: legallyblack.space

How we feel about our mothers...

We've been exploring our relationships with our mothers, and we'd love to know about yours, too. Fill in our survey here (we'll pick one lucky winner who will be gifted a bundle of books).

To whet your appetite, here's an extract from our early spring issue, where Aimee-lee Abraham tells us how her appreciation of her mum is constantly evolving...

“When I turned 24, I began to understand my mother more deeply. Her role became less hazy, less defined. I don’t see a caretaker anymore. I see a complex, hilarious, infuriating best friend with a history that far outstretches mine. 

“I always knew she was exceptionally young and beautiful, because she looked so exceptionally young and beautiful at the school gate, because boys would line the street to watch her take the bins out, because she let me binge-eat crisps whenever I wanted and rapped to the ping of the microwave and let me read Danielle Steel despite warnings from my God-fearing father. But I didn’t truly appreciate how young she was. Didn’t walk in her shoes. 

“She says she’d never have it any other way and I believe her. But if a series of coincidences had thrust me onto an identical path, I’d have a voracious eight-year-old, a curly headed cherub coming up to two and a divorce to settle – and a whole new life to pave out. It’s so far from my reality I just can’t fathom it.” 

In the run-up to Mothering Sunday on 11 March, we're inviting our readers to tell us about their own relationships with their mothers. Fill in our survey here, and we'll pick one lucky winner who will be gifted a bundle of books.

Women who work in the background – Camilla Naprous, horsemaster

In our early spring issue, we shine a spotlight on women who work in the background. And we discovered these women are definitely no shrinking violets... Meet horsemaster Camilla Naprous, who coordinates all the horsey stunts and tricks in Game of Thrones... 

Portrait of Camilla by Aloha Bonser-shaw

"I supply horses to the film industry. So any period movie or TV drama you watch that has a horse in it, I’m usually involved. I choreograph all the horse scenes, stunts and fight sequences. I also teach the actors how to ride – which can be interesting, some actors are in their fifties and have never even sat on a horse before. I recently got back into costume and performed as a stunt woman in the new Wonder Woman. But, these days, I prefer being part of the creative side. There’s so much risk involved in stunts and it takes me ages to recover now I’m in my thirties – the people get hurt way more than the horses. 

"The stunt and horse industry is usually ran by men – in fact, the film industry as a whole is very male dominated – so I’ve had hurdles to cross. It can work in my favour, though, especially when teaching a woman to ride – it’s an emotionally-charged experience and a woman may feel overpowered by a man. 

"The biggest TV show I work on is Game of Thrones, which has legendary horse-based episodes. Sometimes, we’ll have as many as 100 horses on set. And I’m in charge of them. I choreographed the Dothraki charge in season 7 – the directors told me I could create anything I wanted. It was the first time you see the Dothraki do something, so I designed the sequence to show off that they were accomplished horsemen. It has become iconic. And ‘Battle of the Bastards’, which features horses who are trained to fall over, was a great episode to work on – that’s one of my stand-out pieces of work. It has become critically-acclaimed in my world.

"However, our department is never truly recognised by the industry – we’re really sitting in the background, working creatively. I’m not a production, make-up or costume designer so my work can’t get recognised. The stunt world is ignored by the Oscars, the Emmys and the BAFTAs. Action is a huge part of some films, so I don’t understand why. Perhaps it might change soon. I don’t want my industry to remain hidden, I want to show the future generation of female horsemasters what they can achieve. I’m a big believer in women working together, rather than getting to the top by being very alpha. Some women stand on their own, not working together, and I don’t want to be like that. You’re only as good as the team around you. There’s no need to be a bitch, you can’t do everything on your own."

You can read about three more wonderful women doing brilliant things – a fashion designer, a ghostwriter and a supernumerary – in our early spring issue, available to purchase here. 

Through the lens: meet our panellists

To celebrate International Women's Day, we're hosting Through the Lens: an evening of conversation with three interesting women on Friday 9 March, with our friends Bailey Nelson (more details here). The discussion will be chaired by our editor Alice Snape and commissioning editor Bre Graham.

We're delighted to introduce our panellists for the evening. These brilliant women have all featured on the pages of Oh Comely and will be discussing what being a woman in 2018 means to them.

Melina (pronoun she/her) is a queer migrant woman. She has been doing sex work for the past five years – although she doesn't always like it, she is very passionate about sex workers’ rights. She is part of the Sex Workers’ Opera, a multimedia show made by at least 50% of sex workers, and X:talk, a migrant sex worker organisation. She helped with the Sex/Work Strike and she is trying to build an organisation to support sex workers in Portugal. She performs sometimes in different venues in London, rides her bike regularly, writes sporadically and procrastinates wildly.

Tahmina Begum is the Editor-in-Chief of XXY Magazine, a fashion, art and culture magazine, and platform seeking representation for emerging creatives. She is currently working on XXY's first-anniversary print issue and its upcoming podcast. Begum is also a freelance journalist and in addition to being a regular contributor to Oh Comely, she has also recently written for Dazed, HuffPost UK, Man Repeller, ScreenShot Magazine and gal-dem. Her work has a large focus on intersectional feminism and telling forgotten stories as well as the importance of a good, damn accessory.

Grace Campbell is a filmmaker, comedian, and activist. Themes of feminism run through all of Grace’s work, best displayed in Riot Girls, a C4 feminist hidden camera which Grace recently produced and acted in. Grace co-founded the Pink Protest, a platform created to bring feminist action together, both online and IRL, their most notable work so far has been on the #freeperiods campaign.

The event will start from 6.30pm on Friday 9 March, and your £15 ticket includes drinks. Profits from ticket sales will go to Bloody Good Period, which give menstrual supplies to asylum seekers, refugees and those who can't afford them. Buy tickets here. This is an intimate event of just 50 people, early booking is advisable. 

Oh Comely x Bailey Nelson – through the lens: a conversation with interesting women

To celebrate International Women's Day, Oh Comely and Bailey Nelson are hosting an evening of conversation with interesting women who have featured on the pages of Oh Comely, more information to be announced soon...

Profits from ticket sales will go to Bloody Good Period, which give menstrual supplies to asylum seekers, refugees and those who can't afford them.

Hosted by Editor, Alice Snape and Commissioning Editor, Bre Graham

From 6.30pm on Friday 9 March, £15 includes drinks.

Buy tickets here

This is an intimate event of just 50 people. Watch this space for more information on our panel of guests. 

What we're eating: Pancakes with blueberries

Photos: Sophie Davidson

In our early spring issue, we asked three women who know a lot about food to share their cupboard comfort recipes. And, given that today is Shrove Tuesday, we thought you might especially enjoy Ravneet Gill's recipe for pancakes with blueberries...

"Every time I have a day off, my joy is making pancakes. It’s repetitive, it’s easy, and the process of making them is so calming after working as a chef in a busy kitchen. I always have the ingredients for pancakes stored away in my cupboard, and I always have tons of maple syrup ready to drench my pancakes in. I love eating them with blueberries that I just cook down with a little bit of sugar and lemon until they’re soft."

You will need: 

1 cup plain flour

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp fine salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup of whole milk

1 cup of yoghurt

50g butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

Method

1 Place all dry ingredients into a bowl, stir to combine, crack the eggs into the middle and whisk in with splashes of the milk until a batter forms.

2 Whisk in the yoghurt, pour in the melted butter and vanilla.

3 Allow to sit for half an hour before spooning into a buttered pan and cooking on each side until golden. Serve with maple syrup, blueberries and dust with icing sugar.

Ravneet Gill does magic things with sugar and flour. One of our favourite pastry chefs, she’s worked in some of the capital's finest kitchens. Now she creates incredible desserts at Llewelyn's in south London. 

See more cupboard companions in issue 41, the early spring issue of Oh Comely, available to buy now

Dolly Alderton on love

Dolly Alderton is the kind of woman we all wish we had in our lives for those nights when we need honest advice and a well-made martini. Her words are warm, witty and always relatable. A true triple threat, she's a writer, director and podcaster, as well as an expert on false eyelash application. We spent a cosy evening with Dolly chatting about growing up, relationships and her new book Everything I Know About Love... 

Portrait of Dolly by Sophie Davidson 

Everything I Know About Love is brilliant and deals with every aspect of love from friendships and family to the boyfriends of your twenties. What did writing about your real-life relationships reveal to you? "Writing a book affords you a great retrospective awareness of the patterns in your life. It’s definitely a movement and journey. I knew when I started writing that my friends were relationships that were incredibly important  to me but I hadn’t been aware that in my twenties they had been my great loves. It’s affirmed the strength and bond that we have for sure. Making myself vulnerable, writing a book is an act of total vulnerability. It was horrible to write certain bits of it. It felt like the next stage of becoming a women, before that it just felt like a lot of bravado and accommodating other people. There’s a world now in which who I am is okay, it’s great to be vulnerable."

Read our full interview with Dolly in issue 41, you can order a copy from our shop (postage is free). Dolly's book Everything I Know About Love is out now, too.

Todd Haynes

After three decades of directing actresses including Cate Blanchett and Julianne Moore in their defining roles, Todd Haynes finds himself amazed by deaf 14-year-old Millicent Simmonds

Portrait of Todd by Ellie Smith

Todd Haynes has been living in the past for some time. Each of his films – from Velvet Goldmine to I'm Not There to the sublime Carol – has been set in earlier periods and made using cinematic techniques from those eras. His most recent film Wonderstruck splits its time between pasts, telling an intertwined story of two deaf children in the 1920s and 1970s as they each run away from home and experience New York's frenzied enchantment.

Wonderstruck nods towards silent movies and 1970s American cinema. Are you interested in capturing something about how the world was at certain points, or is it more what older films tell us? It varies. Speaking through the prism of film language is sometimes exclusively, almost academically what I'm trying to do: Far From Heaven was set in the late 1950s and was about what those films said about their own time through the artificial language of Technicolor melodramas. Wonderstruck is a little different in that I was thinking about the kids' subjectivity. I felt a messiness in the 1970s. You see images of children from that time and their hair is in their face! Particularly there was a sense of the tactile in their creative interests. I think of Wonderstruck as what they're making with their hands. It feels handmade in that way, and going back and forth between the stories it's almost like pieces of a puzzle being pressed together by little dirty fingers. My films are always interpretations of cultural themes, stories, characters, real people, cinema. I never feel like I'm inventing new ideas, nor is that my intention – I'm just commenting on the culture as it exists and recombining components. I'm curating my films, maybe, much like these kids explore the idea of museum curating.

Is there a kinship between the job of film director and museum curator? You both locate different things, put them together and find the relationships between them. Absolutely. You're not just curating themes and references and in my case historical moments – selecting what is relevant from your research and films and popular culture – you're also putting together creative partnerships. Actors, cinematographers, costume designers, all of those elements are selected yet also have an autonomy. You may guide them but ultimately as a director you're letting something out of your control happen, and that's also the thing you want to capture, to let it in.

Until now you've collaborated mostly with adults, but much of the film is on the shoulders of Millicent Simmonds, a deaf 14-year-old. Did that affect how you worked? Every actor is different anyway. They bring their own personality, temperament, and in the case of professionals, their own training and approach to their work. The cliché that directing is really about casting is true: it's selecting that right person and providing them with confidence so they can take risks and do things that neither of you knew were possible. I know I have good instincts and I'm surrounded by people whose opinions I trust, but I've also been very lucky. With Millie there were unknowns on top of unknowns, but we followed our instincts and met this extraordinary kid. She has an understanding of the camera and the medium that you can't teach, that you can't direct out of anybody. I'm not sure how she knows just the right amount of information to express, or even what she looks like when she's performing. How many of us really know what we look like as we talk and emote? And she's a kid! It's a weird thing. Julianne Moore, who has that same understanding of the scale of the medium, would look at Millie on set and say wow, there's something remarkable here.

There are few deaf characters in cinema, let alone stories about deaf people. Do you feel that in losing dialogue you also gain something in those complications of communication? It asks the audience, who will mostly be hearing viewers, to supplement information, to imagine what it's like to be without hearing but also to interpret things in ways they're not usually asked to. When I was 12, The Miracle Worker became a point of obsession for me. I know it was about Helen Keller as a phenomenon but it made me think about language. Initially she represents a rejection of social norms and law and language, a wilful postponing of entering the codes and terms of a society. That's fascinating when you're young. I think kids feel an affinity for deafness and blindness, for limits and novel ways of improvising how to communicate and express yourself. Limited abilities and freedoms and constraints are built into their status – they get it.

Wonderstruck is in UK cinemas 6 April 2018

Contribute to Oh Comely issue 42

Photo: Orlova Maria 

Issue 42 is out in April and we’re looking for your contributions.

Last year, we published a series of first person 'September stories' (you can read one example here or pick up issue 38 to read all four) and for our next issue we want to hear your personal stories relating to spring – a season traditionally associated with new beginnings.

Got a 'spring story' that you'd like to write? To be considered, email a 100-word outline of your idea to ohcomely@icebergpress.co.uk, along with two samples of your work by Monday 12 February. Please state 'Issue 42 contributions' in the subject header.

Unfortunately we don't accept fiction or poetry samples. We do try and get back to everyone but we're a really small team so we're sorry if we don't get a chance.

We look forward to hearing your ideas!

Issue 41 playlist: It takes two

Illustration: Alice Clark

Issue 41, our early spring issue, is devoted to companions. Our latest playlist – 'It takes two' – celebrates duets, collaborations and damn good partnerships. 

Take a listen here. Even better: share your earphones with your best bud and give them a treat too. 

Oh Comely loves Camille Sanson

Inspired by her own journey into motherhood, photographer Camille Sanson’s solo exhibition ‘Absolution’ explores the mental health stigmas surrounding childbirth. This series of images was shot before, during and after her pregnancy, and is on display at Herrick Gallery, London until Sunday 4 February.

The Vessel

How has photography – and this exhibition especially – helped you cope with your own mental health issues around childbirth? Using photography as my medium to express my art has been a deeply cathartic experience within this exhibition especially. Through the process of coming up with the concepts, creating mood boards and writing about my journey of overcoming my subconscious fears surrounding childbirth and motherhood, I felt a deeper healing had taken place. I would share my experiences with my amazing model Gina (@ginaharrison), so she could bring the concepts into her poses and artistic translation. Through working in this honest way with Gina, we formed a close bond and friendship. I also felt ready to expose some deeply personal experiences within my work as a way of speaking to and encouraging others to go on their own journey of healing and self discovery.

The Mother

Is this the first time photography has helped you with depression? Working on such a personal theme and collaborating in such an intimate supportive way with Gina made this project the most therapeutic to date, but in terms of my other photography work, I always feel a sense of happiness, euphoria and lightness when I’m shooting something I’m passionate about. I find it’s important to always have something creative to focus on or plan alongside the bread and butter work in order to keep that spark alive. That feeling you get when you create that magic shot is very addictive but good for the mind, body and soul.

Gaia

What in particular was it about photography that helped? Perhaps the most helpful part was when I was photographing Gina, when we were able to go deeper into the story and concept and get lost in the moment of magic. But the process of communicating my issues to Gina about my mental health issues and subsequent spiritual and psychological journey of healing and liberation from fears was also so important and effecting.

The Hidden Heart

Would you recommend photography as therapy? Yes, it’s a way for people to find a new way of looking at and interpreting the world and what may be happening in their lives, offering them a medium to express themselves creatively which can be highly therapeutic. 

The Mask

Any other important notes to mention about mental health and photography? Photography and mental health issues can also be at odds with each other, with images of oneself taken at times of suffering bringing up painful memories of those moments. Mental health can be a very difficult thing to represent within photography and within the exhibition The Mask (above) is the image I feel best represents my own struggles.

Absolution by Camille Sanson is on display at Herrick Gallery, 93 Piccadilly, Mayfair, London. Follow Camille on Instagram, @camille.sanson