OH MY MELLOW | No.11
Don’t fret that the June bank holiday has been and gone – we’ve a cache of mood-boosting books, bedrooms, movies and music for your delectation.
BEACH-READING Once Upon a Time World: The Dark and Sparkling Story of the French Riviera
The South of France is full of “rich people behaving badly in the sun”, said Paul McGuinness, U2’s former manager and creator of the Sky TV series Riviera. And if Jonathan Miles’s book Once Upon a Time World: The Dark and Sparkling Story of the French Riviera is anything to go by, he’s not wrong.
From Saint-Tropez in the east to Menton in the west, the Côte d’Azur has long been a haven for hedonists, notably the artists, writers and bon vivants between the world wars – James Joyce, F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Coco Chanel, Cole Porter, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Isadora Duncan – before the likes of Brigitte Bardot and Elizabeth Taylor arrived, for the Cannes Film Festival. Read all about the glitz, glamour, debauchery, and surprising biblical links, in this riveting non-fiction book that’s perfect for the sun-lounger.
DAYDREAMING Lost Cottage
After living vicariously through movers and shakers in the South of France, our mind turns to Glenbeigh in Co Kerry…
A far cry from the sun-kissed, blue and white parasols of Nice, admittedly, but a show-stopping destination nonetheless, especially when experienced from Lost Cottage, which has superlative views of Lough Caragh and interiors to die for: think porcelain-white walls, cosy textiles and some of the best picture windows a bedroom could even dream of – complete with visiting sheep, if you’re lucky.
Available to rent via Unique Homestays; sleeps up to four.
STREAMING Rye Lane
When this South London romcom was released in cinemas in March, comparisons with Richard Linklater’s Beforetrilogy and Wes Anderson’s detail-oriented aesthetic were understandably made.
When this South London romcom was released in cinemas in March, comparisons with Richard Linklater’s Beforetrilogy and Wes Anderson’s detail-oriented aesthetic were understandably made.
Find out for yourself on Disney+, where resides first-time director Raine Allen-Miller’s witty day-in-the-life film about two lonely hearts wandering around Peckham and Brixton, interspersed with flashbacks. It’s a feast for the eyes, but also for the heart thanks to palpable chemistry between its two leads played by Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson, their authentic charm grounding the vivid visuals.
KITCHEN DISCO Alison Goldfrapp
We’re now into festival season, and Alison Goldfrapp’s debut solo album is surely the soundtrack of our summer.
The Love Invention is a self-professed “tribute to the dance floor” and more than meets the brief. Certainly, there are broad shades of Roísín Murphy here, whose own album is set to “drop” in September – after an appetite-wetting Dublin concert next month – but mostly it’s La Goldfrapp in all her glambusting, synth-toting, breathy-vocals glory. Fave PJs on and play ‘Digging Deeper Now’ loud and proud…
DRESS CODE: The Short Set – Tropical Bird
We’re over the moon to be back in our Moon + Mellow shorts! As with reducing our duvet’s tog count, we’re all about showing some leg now that summer is well and truly here.
We’re over the moon to be back in our Moon + Mellow shorts! As with reducing our duvet’s tog count, we’re all about showing some leg now that summer is well and truly here.
This relaxed-fit two-piece is made from 100 per cent luxury cotton, and boasts signature cuffs, French seams, piping detail and mother of pearl buttons. Dreamy or what?