By Samantha Hillman

Editor of D&D’s Sunday Paper

WE LIVE HERE NOW.

When life gets tough or complicated or even just mildly inconvenient or a bit chilly, one of my favourite threats is to pack up abruptly and move somewhere warm off the Florida Keys. I fantasize about it often. Blocking out the world. Living in a palm-dotted, bougainvillea-ensconced quaintly shuttered house painted in one of these colours. Going full Hemingway, but without all the cats*. Writing many sassy essays and bestselling quintets and just generally enjoy the life of tropical reclusiveness that I feel confident I was born to. Grey Gardens, seaside edition.

 My uniform would be this eccentric, parrot-y number. That or this. My cocktails would be exclusively rum-based. And I would have a kitchen that looks like this one where I would make lime pie and install shelves to stock with intricate porcelain bowls, carved to look like coral. (Please also note the TERRIFIC pineapple lamp, which has been living rent-free in my head all week.)

What else? Oh!! This! Magical! Banana! Jam! Which I recommend eating in any slash all of the following ways: swirled through whipped cream atop a pavlova (or an Eton mess, for those of us prone to eff-up pavs); spread over a warm ginger scone with clotted cream; on crumpets. I also like to smoosh a few spoonfuls of it through nice vanilla ice-cream, re-freeze for a bit, then scoop. Heaven. 

Happy Sunday x 

. 

*(I’m allergic to cats, or have pretended to be for so long that I possibly am now? But I would make an exception for any cat wearing a frilly collar - such as this festive feline!! - for obvious reasons.)