Try a tongue twister

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The Crown

Netflix’s latest show, which released last Friday, “focusses on Queen Elizabeth II as a 25-year-old newly-wed faced with the daunting prospect of leading the world’s most famous monarchy”. Reportedly, this is the streaming service’s most expensive series till date, with an impressive budget of over 100 million pounds. And it shows on screen in terms of design and cast: the opulence and elegance is evident and the acting is excellent. Claire Foy plays the lead, ably assisted by Matt Smith as an understated Prince Philip, Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret, and John Lithgow, almost unrecognisable as himself, as Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

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The Kashmir Shawl by Rosie Thomas

Not new as such, but this book comes highly recommended by a colleague. The story follows Nerys Watkins, who leaves her beloved Wales to accompany her husband to the pristine Himalayas on a missionary posting. Living in the heart of Kashmir changes her, and the course of her family, as her granddaughter Mair Ellis finds out several decades later. It’s beautifully written and will draw you in with its old-world charm.

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‘Blended Family (What You Do for Love)’ – Alicia Keys ft ASAP Rocky

Families can be complicated. Even more so when there’s a divorce, kids involved, remarriage and more. But Alicia Keys, her husband Swizz Beatz and his ex-wife Mashonda Tifrere have set an example in co-parenting, which the singer celebrates in her latest song. She said in an interview that the song is dedicated to Tifrere and their “commitment to each other with support and true growth”. The number has a real feel-good vibe about it, as do the lyrics. Especially when you’re feeling a bit uncharitable towards your family.

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November 13 – International Tongue Twister day

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”. Or “She sells sea shells by the seashore.” On this day, challenge yourself, or others, to say these tongue twisters really fast, five times in a row. Or, come up with your own. Perhaps, it’ll beat the current Guinness World Records’ holder for being the toughest one around in the English language: “The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.”