Lately #28: Amandaland, Bridget and rules to live by
Five things to entertain you, and one piece of advice.
On Sundays, we share some of our favourite finds from the week in our Lately newsletter.
There’s a fair bit of British humour for you this week and a lot of feminine energy, and don’t miss some stellar wisdom from a fictional character right at the end (including, ‘No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.’).
It’s visitor season here in Dubai - the time of year where there’s a steady stream of family and friends and a busy calendar of events while the weather is cool enough to really enjoy being outside. It’s also a great excuse to revisit some of the best visitor spots, including my favourite ever taxi ride - the abra boats across Dubai Creek…
Hope you have a great Sunday!
Gillian
Something we should all be watching…
Amandaland: the spin-off that was a sure win.
If you didn’t see Motherland, it was a brilliant British 3-series sitcom about the “mum-eat-mum” world of parenting, which somehow turned the chaotic stress of a group of schoolgate parents into a hilarious and moving ride. It was created by a team including Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters), which is an official watermark for quality - if you ask me - and was perfectly cast.
Lucy Punch starred as Amanda Hughes, an unbearable, self-centred, competitive Alpha Mum - in all the best ways. And now, the same team of writers have come back together to give this character the spotlight she deserves.
Now divorced, Amanda has been forced to downsize as she navigates parenting teenagers in new surroundings. She’s suffered a postcode downgrade, has swapped a local Waitrose for a Tesco Metro, and is forced to find a “collab” (aka, a job). Balancing out the comedy, it’s the flashes of Amanda’s vulnerability that gives the show heart.
There are plenty new characters for Amanda to rub up the wrong way - and for fans of the original, Amanda’s long-suffering friend Anne is back (played brilliantly by Philippa Dunne), and her mother Felicity (Joanna Lumley) has a very welcome central role. Seriously, you could watch the show for Joanna’s one-liners alone.
Amanda: “Sorry Mummy's never heard of the Me Too movement.”
Felicity: “I have thanks. We used to call it flirting.”
You can jump right in with Amandaland or if you want the full Amanda experience, head back and try Motherland, too.
A podcast you’ll want to share…
Have you even made a TV show or a film these days if you don’t have an Official Podcast? I listened to the Rivals one a while back, hosted by
, and loved it - she’s back again as a self-confessed superfan to host Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy The Official Podcast.
It begins with author and scriptwriter Helen Fielding in episode 1. Have you ever heard her interviewed? I hadn’t, and liked her instantly - this is definitely the voice behind Bridget! She created the character of Bridget 30 years ago in a newspaper column, but was really sharing embellished stories about herself and her friends. She reveals a few ‘it really happened’ moments that were used in the films, including this one:
“I think what usually happens with me is the gap between aspiration and what you’re actually capable of. So the blue soup did actually happen to me. I decided to make vichyssoise but you have to tie leeks and onions together with string, and I only had blue string and I thought it’d be fine….”
- Helen Fielding
Pandora brings in a host of guests with behind-the-scenes tales and nostalgic stories about the books and films. Have a listen for Sally Phillips (on-screen BFF Shazzer for 25 years now), new love interests Leo Woodall and Chiwetel Ejiofor, scriptwriters Abi Morgan and Dan Mazer on balancing comedy and tragedy, costume designer Molly Emma Rowe on recreating the now-threadbare red pyjamas, and more - and finally Bridget herself, Renee Zellweger.
“I love the idea that, you know, if British masculinity is represented by James Bond, British femininity is represented by Bridget Jones.”
- Sally Phillips
An interview you’ll want to read…
While we’re on the subject of Bridget Jones, it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed reading an interview this much. Hugh Grant interviewing Renee Zellweger for Vogue as his best character: himself.
Isn’t it nice to read about Hollywood co-stars who have a genuine long-term fondness for each other? Even better when they’re both funny, and we get to see a glimpse of those little parts of them that actually are their Bridget Jones characters.
Read the whole thing. Or if you don’t have time, just read this bit:
Hugh: Shall I tell you what I’ve always thought of you?
Renee: Do I want to know?
Hugh: With a lot of other actors, you think they’re really great and then suddenly you see a little glint of steely, scary ambition and you realise this person would trample their grandmother to get what they want in this business. But I’ve never seen that glint coming off you. So either it’s very well disguised or you are quite nice.
Renee: [Laughs.] I’m actually just very boring. Meanwhile you’re fascinating, with a vast hidden trove of outstanding skills. You’re hilariously brilliant at everything you hate. And, though you hate humans, you’re a very good and loyal friend. I like you very much. And I love working with you.
Something that may surprise you…
A new TV series set in London in the late 1800s; an organised crime gang specialising in robbery, cons and blackmail; their story told by the creator of Peaky Blinders.
But, what if I told you every member of the gang is a woman, and the gang was real?
A Thousand Blows by creator Steven Knight is based on the real-life women-only gang that menaced London for decades, committing intricate crimes across the city. Known as the Forty Elephants, they had their own criminal code and were led by an elected ‘Queen’, the ambitious and formidable Mary Carr.
Read more about the true history of the gang in this BBC article , and the advantage the gang had because '“people often expected women to be more honest and law-abiding”. It’s made me excited to see the show, which has just landed on Disney+, with a second season already shot.
"The Forties was a kind of co-op. The Queen may have been the unequivocal leader, but the equal share of booty and the communal funds available to those arrested helped to foster a sense of equality and to knit the syndicate together.”
- Brian McDonald, author of Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants
Something for a brain break…
Who’s watching White Lotus Season 3? Creator Mike White’s not daft - another season, another filming session in paradise. If you fancy a White Lotus-esque holiday yourself (minus the murder and intrigue, maybe), Time Out has compiled the list of Thailand filming spots from the new series.
I’ve gone back to Seasons 1 and 2 as a viewing favour (happy to see Tanya again, anyway) so I’ve been avoiding spoilers - but what’s all this about a theme tune change? Drama.
One piece of advice:
OK, several pieces of advice, but all solid - from another of Helen Fielding’s book heroines, Olivia Joules. Numbers 2 and 10 made me smile - you?
“Rules for Living by Olivia Joules
1. Never panic. Stop, breathe, think.
2. No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or colour before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, "Does it really matter?"
8. The key to success lies in how you pick yourself up from failure.
9. Be honest and kind.
10. Only buy clothes that make you feel like doing a small dance.
11. Trust your instincts, not your overactive imagination.
12. When overwhelmed by disaster, check if it's really a disaster by doing the following: (a) think, "Oh, fuck it," (b) look on the bright side, and if that doesn't work, look on the funny side. If neither of the above works then maybe it is a disaster so turn to items 1 and 4.
13. Don't expect the world to be safe or life to be fair.”
- Helen Fielding, ‘Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination’
Not sure if I love the content or the writing more. Just a brilliant read I look forward to every Sunday.
Ooh just read Jessica Fellowes’ excellent novel featuring The Forty! Didn’t realise that was factual.