But I’ve Just Sat Down… is a new series from The Village by Stylist that asks parents about their real-life wind-down routines, what they’re watching and reading and the realities of modern parenting. Our first guest is Dawn O’Porter, writer, broadcaster and co-founder of Choose Love.
Dawn O’Porter is a writer, broadcaster and co-founder of Choose Love, the charity that supports refugees and displaced communities. Her latest book, Hungry Eyes, was published this summer and was a Sunday Times bestseller. The memoir traces Dawn’s life through the meals and moments that shaped her, taking in grief, giving up alcohol, motherhood and moving to Los Angeles. The former Celebrity MasterChef finalist also shares her own recipes.
Stylist caught up with Dawn between writing deadlines, school runs and hosting her weekly Classic FM show.
The time I tend to sit down and relax is… 6.30am. I wake up early and get 30 minutes to sit in the kitchen, where I scroll, read or cuddle the cats before the stampede of tiny (massive) feet.
My one tip for getting children to sleep is… noise. Either sounds of the sea or audiobooks, but never silence. The greatest tool in parenting is distraction.
At the moment I’m watching… Last Seen on Apple TV. Nothing like the story of a kidnapped child to settle that parental anxiety.
And reading… The Immortal Sisterhood by Gemma Cairney. She’s one of my besties, but I‘m getting to know her on another level through the book. It’s so good. The women she chose to profile throughout it make me want to make better attempts to change the world.
Doomscroller or a setter of time limits? Doomscroll. Although I have been using the Brick, so I’m getting better at blocking social media on my phone when I go to bed or work. I’m very good at forgetting to do it, though, which means I spend most of my time scrolling through recipes and cats and not writing. Shhh, don’t tell my editor. Or my cats – they’d be jealous.
If dinner is cooked for me, I want… equal amounts of protein and carbs and a good pile of something green. If there is a sauce, I’ll be yours forever.
Served with a glass of… non-alcoholic red or white wine. I don’t drink alcohol any more but still love a glass of something grown-up with dinner. There are some really nice ones now. I get a selection box delivered, so I try all sorts.
If it’s just me, myself and a podcast, I always listen to… I don’t really listen to podcasts, but you will rarely find me without an audiobook on.
My social media platform of choice is… Instagram. I just love it. I think people are generally so funny, and the cooking reels are amazing. I follow very few people and am picky about who. I am also queen of the block button, so it’s a generally nice place to be. I’m not on TikTok; it’s too hectic. I love Substack and write a lot on there, but sometimes I find people’s posts quite cringe. Lots of wistful notes about country walks and pretty flowers. I’d like more grit and spice, but it’s certainly a nice place to escape to, and it’s a great community for writers.
Credit: Scott Trindle, Getty
I would recommend you follow… @chooselove. It’s a charity I co-founded over a decade ago. We help displaced people all over the world, and the Instagram is a great resource for information about what is going on and how you can help.
Bed, lying on the sofa or curled up in a chair? From the second I get up, I can’t wait to get back into bed. Why be upright when you can lie on your back? It’s a no brainer. Also, I have terrible circulation, if I curl up in a chair for too long, I’d not be able to get up.
My wind-down routine involves… cooking dinner while listening to Classic FM. I find cooking so relaxing, the thing that defines the end of the workday and the start of the evening. Also, the payoff is amazing – something yummy to share with the family. Obviously, family mealtimes are hit and miss depending on everyone’s moods, but I do my best to at least make the food pleasant!
My go-to home scent is… I don’t really have one even though I love candles and have them burning most of the time. I have been burning a lot of sage recently. It’s the only thing that busts the smell of my kids’ football boots. It also cleanses the place of bad vibes, and I’m a bit witchy like that.
My ultimate dream day off would involve… doing a cookery course. That’s my idea of a heavenly day away from my desk. Maybe driving an hour or so into the country to a nice farm that does good day courses and learning how to make something exceptionally delicious. That’s way more interesting to me that sitting around doing nothing.
The one show I always return to is… the news. I don’t watch much TV, but if I slump down on the sofa, it’s usually to watch the news.
Silence is… only something I want when I am asleep. I wear earplugs and go into a cave. But during the day, the sounds of hustle and bustle and engines and horns and wind in the trees are a white noise that I find productive. Until someone starts drilling when I have a deadline, then I become murderous.
Wellness to me is… eating lots of very healthy food. I eat a lot, and so I aim to make 80% of it very nutritious. Things like extra virgin olive oil, seeds, berries and green leafy veg feature a lot in my diet. I get such a kick out of eating for my skin, my energy and brain. I supplement a bit, mostly vitamin D and magnesium. But my focus is on my diet. There is a ginormous industry trying to sell us stuff and I’m such a sucker for it. But I never feel better than when I eat well.
The last thing I did for just for myself was… a strength training class this morning. I am not getting there very often at the moment, but I feel like such a badass today having done that. There are about eight people in the class, and I am definitely the least fit one, but everyone is so nice and encouraging. It’s nothing but good vibes, and I am now at my desk knowing that if I don’t move again today, it’s fine.
Cinema or sofa? Cinema, and we must keep going out and watching films in that way or it just won’t exist in a few years, and I think that would be devastating!
Credit: Scott Trindle, Getty
The film I’ve watched more than any other is… Dirty Dancing. I can’t have seen it less than 200 times. I’m actually due a rewatch. For me it’s love story perfection.
The wind-down product I’d never be without… magnesium glycinate. It works!
When I want to debrief about my day, I call… my sister Jane. Our chats go on for ages. I bloody love my sister!
My most used app is… WhatsApp. School groups, school spin-off groups. Different friend groups all over the world. My parents, my family, my besties… it’s endless. I am extremely active on WhatsApp when I am on a deadline. My friends can spot it a mile off, and I get a lot of “Dawn, just write the bloody book and shut up.”
If I’ve got a night off I… go for an early dinner with a friend. Nothing makes me happier than a delicious three courses somewhere lovely, then being in bed by 9.30pm. The perfect night!
Dairy Milk or Pringles? Neither. If I eat chocolate, it’s generally very dark and Pringles are evil. Crisps are my favourite food on the planet. Proper, crunchy slices of real potatoes. I eat them pretty much every day. I have no interest in that reformed pulp or whatever the hell is in Pringles. I find them very offensive. (My kid gets them all the time, to my horror, and yes, I always have one.)
Credit: Scott Trindle, Getty
Hungry Eyes: A Memoir Of Appetite, Ambition And The Odd Bag Of Wotsits For Dinner by Dawn O’Porter (£16.99, HarperCollins) is out now.
You can listen to Dawn on Classic FM, every Saturday afternoon from midday.
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