Lifestyle – Page 9 – The de-la-Haye Girls

My Morning Routine

Get ready this morning with the de-la-Haye Girls.

A bright, crisp morning is probably our favourite time of the day. The possibility of the day, stretching out ahead, sparkling with potential. For the longest time we have both been fascinated by how others start their days, what tips and tricks people use to help maximise their productivity and wake up well.

With this in mind, we thought we’d share with you what each of our morning routines look like, perhaps to give you inspiration to spruce up your own AM habits…

L’s laid back morning of mindfulness

10am: Rise and shine! I’ve never been much of an early bird, especially if I’m working in the theatre the night before. Normally a show won’t come down until 10.30(ish). By the time I’ve had a drink with colleagues to decompress and travelled home it’s pushing midnight. I like to snuggle down with a crime procedural and get in a full nine or so hours of sleep. My body is pretty good at waking me up naturally, plus my boyfriend is now WFH so the gentle hum of a conference calls acts as my alarm clock. Still in my pjs, I stumble to the Nespresso machine. Coffee is an essential part of this de-la-Haye girl’s morning, except on Sundays when I treat myself to a Tetley.
11am: I carefully transfer the mug of magical liquid back to bed. Yes, I do get back into bed. There’s something so luxurious about it, sipping my brew in between the sheets. If you’ve got the time, I recommend you try it. I take this time in the morning to journal. Now wait – before you eye-roll – I think this act of self care is more common than we think. Some call it “morning pages”, others “free writing”, but whatever you call it, the process remains the same: you take some time simply to put pen to paper and clear your mind of all its mental chatter. You can use the pages to document all your worries or give gratitude or, mine and E’s favourite pastime, write a list. Stick some music on and let your mind wander!
11.30am: I air the bed, Febreezing and “Hinching” as I go. Then it’s into the bathroom to cleanse my face and brush my teeth. The less I put on my face the better my skin tends to be so warm water, a little moisturiser and some sunscreen in all I need. By this point I’m normally on my second cup of coffee. I grab the matches with my free hand and light a candle in each room. Even in the daytime, I just think they’re magic.
12pm: Hair goes up on top of my head and sports bra is wriggled into. If I’ve a show that evening then I take this time, just as morning slides into afternoon, to run. I aim to do a 5k three/four times a week. I normally hate every second of it but once in a blue moon, it’s not too bad and it’s always worth it for that post-run hit of endorphins. If I’m between jobs this is my time for yoga. I aim to do a little work on my mat each day. It is so much more than stretching and slow breathing: for me, yoga is a spiritual activity and it makes me feel so powerful. I notice such a difference on the days I don’t allow myself the time to practise.
12.30pm: I jump in the shower and do a quick vocal warm up. The steam is great for my voice which needs a bit of gentle coaxing to get going. Finally, I check my emails, Whatsapp messages and, of course, our blog. Often E will have sent something hilarious to the family group chat that brightens up my day. I catch up on any laptop-based work or teaching admin while I make my breakfast. I can’t bear eating first thing but once I’ve moved my body, my tummy will start to rumble. Brekky is undeniably my top meal of the day. Seriously, if I worked in an office all my meetings would be based around this meal time. Banana pancakes, smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel, sourdough with avocado and eggs and filthy Nutella oats are all on heavy rotation for me.
1pm: I double check my to do list, ticking off anything completed from the previous day and catch up with my boyfriend on his lunch break. Then I’m off out and about, masked up, teaching, rehearsals or auditioning. Ready to handle whatever a day in 2020 fancies throwing at me!

The happiest of mornings when this delivery arrives!

Zooming about with E in the early AM

My morning routine begins very differently to L – if L is an owl, I am a lark – but other parts of our routine are similar. Prior to the arrival of Covid, I travelled all over the UK and often overseas for work. My morning routine then would begin about 6am in whichever hotel I was staying in and had a laser-focus on getting ready to meet my clients and spend full days working with them. Since March, my morning routine has been rather different.
Any time between 5 – 7am, depending on who I am working with that day, and which part of the planet they are based, I’m woken by my alarm. I am “up and at ’em” as I’ve learned from very stressful experience that the snooze button really doesn’t do me any favours. I head straight to the bathroom to spruce up for the day, avoiding, if at all possible, a morning shower that involves washing my hair. A warm body shower is perfect, but my hair is thick and heavy and I am incapable of blow-dry styling myself so if I wash it in the morning, I drip all over myself for hours and I’m lucky if it’s fully dry by late afternoon. My morning face routine has not changed for 25 years: Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, followed by Liz Earle skin tonic and, yes, you guessed it, a mixture of Liz Earle Skin Repair and Superskin moisturisers. I used to spend about 30 minutes each morning on my daily make-up but my professional life is now based around Zoom and I have discovered the beautify filter, so a lick of mascara and my lipstick (always) is all I need.

7:30am: downstairs to five, unalterable, “must dos”: feed Tyler and let him out for his morning constitutional; take my fistful of vitamins with a glass of Berocca; boil the kettle for a steaming mug of fruit or peppermint tea (I don’t do coffee or “normal” tea, and don’t get me started on the vileness that is green tea); crack open my journal to capture thoughts and notes that have occurred to me overnight and remind myself about what I plotted the previous evening as my actions for the day; and have a quick shufty at the latest comings and goings on my social media. I am verging on the compulsive with my journal; it is part reflective log, part daily agenda but mainly lists. I then hit work, invariably these days via one video conferencing platform or another, and there I am, in my little broadcast studio cum office, powered by Twinings’ peach, orange and boabab tea until lunchtime.
12:30pm: my morning ends with food! Like Lily, I don’t eat in the morning but come early afternoon, two slices of The Sussex Kitchen’s delicious wholemeal sourdough are plunged into the toaster and the latest jar of Marmite crunchy peanut butter is cracked open. It truly is the superior brunch and, in the interests of candour, I share with you that most days, I am too impatient for the toast to pop and snaffle of couple of teaspoons of the Marmite peanut butter straight into ma bouche – yum-yum! These two slices, a piece of fruit (I’m not a complete savage) and another bucket of Twinings set me up for the afternoon’s work.

The weekend routine starts later, of course, and is less structured and more relaxed; Tyler, tea and toast are constants though.

Living The Cream In Cornwall

Go adventuring with Lily in Cornwall.

My feet were getting itchy. Maybe it’s the nature of my job, always being on the move, living out of a suitcase, in and out of various theatres and auditions, but I can’t go too long in the same place. Now I know that opportunity to travel is a privilege, especially during a global pandemic but there are so many ways we can feel like we’re on vacay without, you know, actually leaving the country. A couple of years ago my boyfriend and I took a spontaneous trip to the Cornish coast for a long weekend after I had been working in Devon and it was one of my favourite places we’ve ever visited. If this year has taught me anything it’s that there’s so much for us to see and love right here in Blighty.

We drove down via South Wales, as we decided to drop in on my Nanny for a socially-distanced dinner date. This split our six hour journey into two more manageable chunks. Podcasts on – Up and Vanished is our current obsession – we cruised down to the edge of the country to our chocolate box Airbnb in Ruthvoes.

This pretty little hamlet is perfectly situated for easy access to both sides of the Cornish coast. We decided to spend our first day exploring, on foot and with a pub or two en route. The rain was torrential but with brollies up and wellies on, it was joyous to be out and about exploring somewhere unfamiliar.

Now I mean this with every fibre of my being, Cornwall is the Paris of the UK. You will not have a bad meal out. So much of the produce is farm fresh and – bonus time – the portions are generous. Seriously, the best Chinese food we’ve ever tasted we stumbled upon in Saint Columb!

Day Two and the weather decided to warm up. We visited a local owl sanctuary, aptly named Screech. We had it on very good authority that this was an excellent day out, getting to see these magical creatures in their natural environment really brought out my inner Ravenclaw. And you can get a cream tea in the cafe for £5. It’s a hard yes from me.

It was only a twenty minute drive to reach our next destination, the gorgeous hidden treasure of Saint Austell. I’ve never been before and I wish we’d spent more time here. Less busy than Padstow or Newquay but just as Instagram-able. All the local businesses had Covid-safe procedures in place, allowing everyone to really relax and possibly, just for a moment, forget all the turbulence of the last six months. I could’ve quite happily have stayed in Saint Austell, drinking Aperols all evening and falling asleep under the stars.

The following morning we wanted to check out our old haunts from our last holiday. The last time I was in Tintagel I desperately wanted to buy a ceramic piece from the local potter but I was worried it wouldn’t survive the car journey home, especially if I was driving. This time though, my mind was made up. I selected a beautiful cornflower-blue coloured bowl that I’m sure E would covet; she LOVES her ceramics.

A quick sidebar about driving in Cornwall: sometimes you are better off following the signs and not your SatNav. James Nesbit – our SatNav has a Northern Irish accent – sent us down an impossibly long twisty road that we then had to reverse back up when we almost hit a truck coming the other way.

We eventually made it to Padstow or PadSTEIN as the locals call it, thanks to their local celebrity. On our previous trip to Cornwall our day in Padstow was totally overshadowed by a downpour, being attacked by wasps in a tearoom and very, very bad hangovers. We felt the town needed another chance. I’m sorry to report dear reader, it didn’t fair much better this time. The harbour is adorable but far too crowded, not ideal, even pre-pandemic. Beyond the crowds it has it charms which is why, of course, it is so very popular. Rather selfishly, I just wish there had been fewer tourists on the day we visited!

For our final couple of days we moved to a hotel in Newquay. The town has changed a lot since the post A-Levels surf and clubbing days of the early noughties. It is busy with families now, taking advantage of the water sports and beach front bars. We managed to catch the tail end of storm Francis for our last two days but this didn’t dampen our spirits. In fact, it gave me an excuse to buy a new raincoat, so happy days.

You could fill a lifetime of summers with trips down to the Cornish coast. There really is magic around every cove. Even with a dose of unseasonably poor weather, that Turner-esque sea breeze was a tonic in a strange, Covid-compliant summer. I can’t recommend a Cornish adventure highly enough.

I am the daughter of Earth and Water
Percy Shelley

If you want to see more from my Cornish staycation, check out my Instagram and let me know where you’re off to next.~L.

Me Old China

E talks ceramics…

Is there a special word for the love of ceramics? If there isn’t, I think there should be. I take great pleasure in the beauty of everyday objects. I enjoy fine art too, but unless I win big on the National Lottery – which would be highly unlikely even if I did buy a ticket regularly – or I come into a sizeable inheritance – probably more unlikely than that Lottery win – I’m only going to be able to enjoy fine art in a gallery or museum. Everyday art, with its functional beauty, really appeals to me and I think that’s why I love ceramics.

In the interests of full disclosure, although I am a card-carrying member of the V&A, I am no expert on ceramics, nor am I anything as committed or organised as a collector. I don’t know my earthenware, from my stoneware or porcelain, and I suspect bone china is a category all of its own, and does it contain real bone? What I do know is that I enjoy looking at, handling and owning affordable and beautiful pieces of china and ceramics; crockery (“flatware”), a few vases, trinkets and jugs tend to catch my eye most often, jugs especially (as my Mum announced on Saturday, with an absolutely straight face: “our Em’s got a thing about jugs”).

I can date my interest in ceramics to 1986 and the half a dozen years that followed. For my 19^th birthday, a university friend bought me a tiny ceramic piggy-bank in a silk pouch made by a local ceramicist in Bath. I adored this little curiosity and, although the silk pouch is long gone, I still have the piggy.

As a gift to celebrate their 50^th wedding anniversary, my maternal grandparents (the ones of Mr and Mrs fame) asked for a new dinner service. The design they chose – which was very en vogue in the late 1980s – was the Johnson Brothers Eternal Beau originally designed by Sarina Mascheroni, a pretty ribbon and bow motif on octagonal-shaped pieces. At the tender age of 20, I was quite taken with it and thought it very stylish. I don’t recall having thought about plates and cups and saucers before Eternal Beau. I wonder where my grandparents’ dinner service ended up? A couple of years later, moving into our first home as a young family, I was smitten with Portmeiron’s Botanic Garden range and enjoyed using it every day. I’ve held on to a few pieces: a side plate decorated with a lily and one decorated with Sweet Williams (of course); a formidably heavy bowl which I use as a mixing bowl and a vase (also decorated with lilies). My lovely Mum also gave me a large jug from her Botanic Garden collection last year which is in near-permanent use as a vase.

In the late 1980s, my paternal grandmother died and I was asked if there was anything of hers I’d like as a momento. I asked if I could have the pink ceramic coffee pot which had sat in a cabinet in the corridor of her flat. I must have walked passed this small cabinet displaying her bits of china dozens of times over the years and the pink coffee pot always caught my eye. I still adore it and today it sits on a table, at the head of my stairs, and I get to enjoy it every time I cross the landing. I researched it a few years ago and discovered that it is, in fact, a tea pot from the Arthur Wood Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent. To me it’ll always be the pink coffee pot.

My tastes have changed over the years and I much prefer unpatterned, or certainly minimally patterned, crockery these days. I’ve also come to learn that I don’t particularly desire matching crockery – I think there’s something wonderfully pleasing about mismatched plates and bowls. I also don’t hold with the notion of keeping things for “best”: I like to see, touch and use my best china and ceramics every day. I still enjoy buying pieces that appeal to me and current favourites include Van Verre cabbage bowls, Lene Bjerre pink crackle-glazed dishes, a cute Bombay Duck jug and a gorgeous pot handmade by Studio Arhoj which Lily bought as a gift for me when she visited Copenhagen last year (and which she massively covets and, I think, rather wishes she’d kept for herself).

So if you stumble across a word for a love of ceramics, do let me know. And if you find pretty pieces you fall in love with, share and tag us in. ~E.