Days Like This Monthly Newsletter October 23 - Every Second Counts Or Does It?

How do we live well? Every second counts, or does it? I’ve just finished watching Season 2 of The Bear. Season 1 was good, but Season 2 is better. If you’re not familiar with it, The Bear is about a struggling sandwich shop in Chicago which has ambitions to be a fine dining restaurant. Most of Season 1 was spent in the drama and heat of the kitchen. Pretty much every episode was a bad day. There were lots of plates of food and issues with unpaid debts. Season 2 takes us out of the culinary workplace and into the characters’ homes and personal lives. We get insights into their backgrounds and piece together their back stories. We find out more about their parents, their relationships, their insecurities, their failures, their desires and their motivations. We realise that all of these have contributed to the part they play in the restaurant team. Each person is different, brings something different, needs different encouragements, has to overcome different challenges. I plan to watch the whole season all over again as there are so many lessons about vision, mission, leadership and teamwork.

In Episode 7, ‘Forks’, described as the best episode of television this year, Richie who is ambivalent about fine dining is sent to a Michelin star restaurant to learn more about service. He has to polish the forks, ensure they’re streak-free. Details matter. There is a clock and a sign on the wall. “Every second counts” it says. He watches it. Time matters. But the clock only shows the minutes moving on. There is no countdown of the seconds. We know the seconds are there, that they are disappearing, but we can’t see them. The fire suppression test that has be passed in Episode 8 reminds us that seconds can be everything. A balloon is attached to a line, the gas is turned on. Everyone waits in a kitchen together as the countdown begins. All of their lives and everything they have sacrificed to get a new restaurant ready for opening, hinges on the next ten seconds….  

On Thursday 12 October at 7.30pm, I will be holding the first ‘How Do We Live Well?’ conversation. We will be discussing the whole idea of living well. Much of this is to do with time - how we are or aren’t using our time, whether we are making the most of the time we have, how we are evidencing our use of time, what we are achieving. When it comes to our work, our parenting, our faith, our relationships, our roles, our contribution to society, our happiness, our impact, often we feel that we are not quite hitting the mark. There will be tea and cake. I’m suggesting people wrap up warm as the plan is to hold this outside, in the fresh air, around a fire. If you are interested in chatting, meeting new people, eating sugar, drinking hot liquid, please do come along. Just let me know so I can give you my address!

What else is happening?

Getting Some Monday Air (Mondays 7pm)

As mentioned in the last newsletter, I am still trying to get out for a walk, come rain or shine at 7pm on Mondays. If you would like to walk with me to get some Monday air and can get to BT5 (that’s a postcode), just get in touch (contact@deborahsloan.co.uk or via any other contact method you have for me) and we’ll arrange a date.

Autumn Pop-Up Book Club (Thursday 26 October at 7.30pm) - French Braid by Anne Tyler

I’m getting quite excited about this book club and the chance to discuss the ‘cat’ question (What would you have done with the cat?) with other people and not just in my head. The book for the Autumn Pop-Up Book Club is Anne Tyler’s French Braid. Again, just let me know if you’d like to come along…

So, what have I been writing about?

I have been more productive in September than I thought and can present five pieces of writing from this month. Aren’t I using my time/seconds well? Here they are in no particular order:

Last Friday Afternoon, All I Could Do Was Make A Cup Of Tea

Have You Picked Your Desert Island Discs?

Pour Me A Presbyterian No. 2 (I’m Having A Bit Of Trouble With The Rules)

Remember My Name

He’s Not A Household Name

The reading pile…

It has now become a bit of a monthly tradition to create a pile of books at the start of the month which I will read during that month. Here is the October pile (two are relatively recently-released paperbacks, one is from 2012 and one from 1991).  

What am I enjoying?

Something to watch…

Ballywalter – it has to be Ballywalter! For anyone from Northern Ireland, you will enjoy spotting places you know and questioning the routes they are taking in that taxi. For everyone else and also everyone from Northern Ireland, you will walk away from this film with a new-found appreciation of connections and friendships and why we all need someone who believes in us (that will be the topic of my writing this week so do read it on Thursday).

Something to listen to…

Now, as I suggest this, I need to say that Marian Keyes, lovely, jolly lady and bestselling author that she is, is also a bit of a fan of the expletive. On this podcast, she is reflecting on having a ‘roundy’ birthday and turning 60. She shares her wisdom on what she has learnt from her six decades to date. I suggest if you don’t have time to listen to it all, that you listen from around 36 minutes in to hear what she has to say about comfort zones. “I don’t want to do a lot at the moment,” she says. She describes living in “a time of stasis or suspended something or other”. “If you have a comfort zone, cherish it,” she says.

Something to read…

Don’t just take my word for it. Read this in the Huffington Post about why you should watch The Bear!

And for something really new… Deborah’s list

I noticed recently that Alexandra Shulman (former editor of Vogue) posts a weekly list on Instagram of her five recommendations/enjoyments/pleasures from that week. It’s called unsurprisingly ‘Alexandra’s list’. Alexandra is a bit of a fan of unusual and unattainable items so here’s Deborah’s list for slightly more normal people. I present green furry Birkenstocks, three hair products that will sort out your frizz, a negroni, figgy banana bread (you all know how to make banana bread so just add figs) and some parmesan fries…

Deborah's List

As always, I love to hear from you so please do get in touch if there is anything in this newsletter that has moved you to do anything at all, even if it’s just to sort out your frizz…

Love, Deborah