Dear Reader,
Happy Platinum Jubilee to those who observe. I hope you had a sunny weekend, some time off work and a chance to see loved ones. In all honesty, I had a moment of wondering early in the week why there were so many pictures of the Queen plastered on every surface (or projected onto Stonehenge) because I was so looking forward to my sister Rosie’s Van Party that I totally forgot it was the Jubilee at all. One person who didn’t forget is David Lowbridge-Ellis at Licence to Queer, who held a Jubilee watch-party featuring all of Sir Roger Moore’s Bond, raising nearly £3,000 for Unicef, a charity Moore dedicated his life to after 007. Congratulations and thank you, David! Truly keeping the British end up. Absolutely amazing.
The Spy Who Loved Me
It was heartwarming to see love for my grandfather, the actor George Baker, on Twitter during The Spy Who Loved Me re-watch. I especially liked @LEmperorgb’s explanation for George’s appearance as Captain Benson in The Spy Who Loved Me after his role as Sir Hilary Bray in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: Sir Hilary is brainwashed by MI6 to forget his role in Bedlam, and enlists instead as a senior officer in the Royal Navy.
I also appreciated on Twitter about a month back the notion that James Bond is in fact its own Multiverse of Madness, which would explain SO much. (Speaking of, what MCU actor would you like to see in a Bond film? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter or Instagram).
The Spy Who Loved Me is of course the place to go for a Union Jack parachute and the immortal line, ‘Keeping the British end up, sir.’
Van Party
While other folks were hanging Union Jack bunting, my sister was hanging up the most beautiful ragging over her van. Those of you following along will know Rosie is an artist who is currently converting a van into her new home – once it’s finished, she’ll be travelling the world (or, if I have my way, mainly Scotland). The Van Party was a chance for all of us to toast the van and mark Rosie’s incredible adventure into limitless horizons.
It was the first time I’d seen many far-flung friends and family since pre-pandemic and it was so joyful to gather at my mother’s house in Cornwall for the celebrations. Not to brag or anything, but the Baker Family are famous for throwing quite literally the best parties in the entire multiverse. What makes the best party in the world? Some essential ingredients, shaken not stirred: food, fire, music, good people. We enjoyed all four in abundance and even had glorious sun into the mix.
I’m so inspired by Rosie’s brilliant commitment, courage and creativity, and can’t wait to see what comes next. Congratulations, Rosie! You can follow the van build, and Rosie’s upcoming major exhibition at the National Aquarium, at her newsletter A Nomadic Rose.
That Time I Met The Queen
I’ve been bowled over by the warm reception to my newsletter – thank you to all who subscribe for free or pay for all four a month.
In the first newsletter, I mentioned I’ve had one state secret in my life, which I immediately blurted to my mother. In honour of the Jubilee, I thought I’d blurt it to all of you as well. About a decade ago, I was chosen to represent my university at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, something I was supposed to keep strictly quiet until it was announced in the press. So much for that.
But go to the palace I did, where I spoke with Her Majesty about my experience learning and teaching creative writing in higher education, and let me tell you I think she was ready to enrol. Despite my punk years (aged eight to ten – I was angry early) it was one of the most extraordinary moments in my life. The Queen represents an incredible broad sweep of history, and meeting her felt like shaking hands with history itself. At the same time, it felt just like meeting someone’s (or several people’s) grandmother. Happy Platinum Jubilee, Your Majesty.
What does the Jubilee mean to us, punk or otherwise? Perhaps it’s a chance to recognise service and commitment. Like many, I want to thank the NHS, teachers, journalists and all key workers who keep the British end up, especially during the pandemic.
Looking Ahead
Welcome to those of you who are new subscribers, or recently upgraded from free to paid! Paid subscribers receive all four newsletters a month – in May, we visited Crete and followed in Bond’s tyre treads through Glencoe in the Highlands while I sang ‘Skyfall’ VERY LOUDLY.
In June, I’ll be returning to Devon, where my family lived for over a decade. I’ll be teaching at Arvon in Totleigh Barton, a residential creative writing programme that runs here in the UK. Then I’ll be going to Agatha Christie’s house in Devon, Greenway, for a ten-day residency where I hope to write a great chunk of the second book in the Double O trilogy.
Devon is my spiritual home – I spent fourteen years writing a novel set there, called A Wild & True Relation, which will be published by Virago in spring 2023. I’ll write more about that next week, but if you’d like to read a little about it now you can do so here at The Bookseller, and if you’d like to pre-order a copy, you can do that here…
My wifi will be irregular in Devon but you’ll hear from me when signal pops back up.
In the meantime, thank you so much for reading. And congratulations to you on whatever it is in your life that you serve with commitment and grace.
From Kim, With Love x
PS: If you’d like to upgrade to paid, you can do so here:
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