Martha Stewart is being dragged by the internet for using "a small iceberg" to chill her cocktail while on a cruise traveling from Iceland to Greenland.
10.08.2023 - 20:27 / theguardian.com
‘Slipping through my fingers all the time / I try to capture every minute …,” mourns Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia! as we drive along a dusty road lined with goats and olive trees to Kefalos beach. I glance over at my girl – rosy cheeks, sun-kissed hair, phone glued to hand – and I’m overcome with emotion and involuntarily snort tears down my face.
“Mum, are you actually crying?” laughs Lola. “You’re so soft!”
Yes, so soft that I have to pull over and recompose myself. Never has a song resonated so much.
My daughter Lola – and her twin sister, Nancy – are now 17. It’s their first year at sixth-form college and their lives revolve entirely around their friends and having fun – just as they should. But, while I encourage my children’s independence, I worry that my threadbare apron strings are about to snap.
It’s been a tough few years. I’ve separated from their father, and both girls have had anxiety and depression post-Covid. Last summer I took all the kids – Lola, Nancy and their brother, Angus – to Rome. It was a great holiday, but they bickered and fought for my attention. With three children, it can be hard to give each the laser-focused time they want or need. And twins can be competitive, especially when it comes to attention.
I’ve found that one-on-one time is beneficial to our relationship and their wellbeing. We’re not the only ones to recognise this. Mum-and‑daughter trips are increasingly popular among Lola’s friends. Last year I took Angus, who is 21, on a work trip to Stockholm and we came back more connected than ever.
Lola’s had a fascination with Greece ever since she saw Mamma Mia! aged six. When I suggested we go away for a few days over Easter, Greece was top of her list. (Nancy’s next.)
I booked a cheap hotel in Kos Town and it’s not long before we’re living the Greek dream with the film’s score as our soundtrack. Kos is perfect for an off-season holiday. The third largest island in the Dodecanese – closer to Turkey than Athens – it’s already warm in April. We soon fall into an easy routine: I wake early and read my novel on the balcony overlooking the sea, while the teenager slides out of bed hours later, only seconds before breakfast ends. We mooch around town, shopping for silver jewellery and trinkets for her friends, stopping for coffee and Cokes in pretty bougainvillea-strewn cafes. We like the buzz of Kos Town.
We flip-flop between the beaches, explore the towns, and lunch on Greek salad and chips in waterfront restaurants as twinkly eyed septuagenarian waiters flutter attentively around us. We practise our basic Greek – little more than kalimera and efcharisto – and Lola gets to see me relaxed, a person in my own right, not just her mother. Without the temptation to see her
Martha Stewart is being dragged by the internet for using "a small iceberg" to chill her cocktail while on a cruise traveling from Iceland to Greenland.
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