Some things that made me smile in… April 2025

Including pistachio perfection, candid conversations and planting trees as I type

Apr 30, 2025

If you’re a regular here, welcome back! If you’re new, this is my round up of some of the things that have made me smile over the past month. Please feel free to share in the comments anything that’s brought you joy too, whether big or small! Are you currently a free subscriber but would like to upgrade? You can do that here.

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April feels like it’s whizzed by. It’s been a month of welcome sunshine, not so welcome hayfever, fun with friends, long overdue catch-ups and too much Easter chocolate.

Here’s some of things I’ve enjoyed in April.

Plant trees while you search the internet

When doing an internet search, how often do you go to Google by default? If you’re looking for an alternative search engine then Ecosia might be an option for you. I only came across Ecosia a few weeks ago, so I’m probably very late to the party.

Ecosia operates with collective climate action at its heart. As a search engine that plants trees (over 230 million so far), 100% of their profits are for the planet they are B Corp certified.

Find out more about Ecosia here.

Mallow

From the same team behind Mildreds, Mallow is a 100% plant-based restaurant with two London locations – one in Borough Market and one in Canary Wharf. I visited the original in Borough on a sunny day for a catch-up chat.

I’m not vegan, but if you are or eat gluten-free, you will be catered to here. I believe meat-eaters would be satisfied by the menu too. As we were there post-lunchtime, I had intended to just have a tea, but then I saw the dessert menu and went for the pistachio pandan tres leche (pictured at the top of this post) which was 10/10.

Mallow serves sustainable food, but another cute touch is that their business cards (pictured below) are sustainable too. I’m going to plant my card and see if it will grow into a flower.

This is the first time I’ve been to Mallow and it won’t be the last.

The Borough Market Mallow is located at 1 Cathedral Street, SE1 9DE. To find out more visit the Mallow website here.

Nirvana Spa

In a continuation of my birthday celebrations last month, I enjoyed one of my birthday gifts – a spa day – earlier in April. I’ve gone from not doing anything remotely spa-like since 2019 to having two separate spa experiences in the space of three months, and I’m not mad about it!

One of my oldest friends whisked me away to Nirvana Spa for a deeply rejuvenating day of relaxing, resting, being pampered and enjoying delicious food. I had a wonderful facial with a therapist who really understood my skin type. My skin glowed for a good week afterwards and my muscles were soothed by the hydrotheraphy pool, Dead Sea Salt floatation, thermal suite and more.

Find Nirvana Spa at Mole Rd, Sindlesham, Wokingham RG41 5DJ and visit their website here.

Just Act Normal

Adapted by

Janice Okoh

from her stage play, Three Birds, Just Act Normal follows three young working-class siblings in Birmingham, Tiana, Tionne and Tanika navigating life as they hide a huge secret about their missing mother. 17-year-old Tiana shines as the heart of the show, doing the best she can to keep everything together for her younger brother and sister while also trying to realise her own dreams. (Not saying any more as I don’t want to give any spoilers!)

I’m only a couple of episodes in so far, but I’m already loving this series. Great storytelling and fantastic performances from the cast. Newcomers Chenée Taylor, Akins Subair and Kaydrah Walker-Wilkie are definitely ones to watch.

Check out the Just Act Normal trailer and watch the whole series on BBC iPlayer.

The Assembly has a series

Last year I wrote here about the one-off episode of The Assembly that was shown here in the UK on the BBC. This TV format originated in France as Les Rencontres Du Papotin and an Australian version of the series aired last year.

In The Assembly, a room full of journalists who are autistic, neurodivergent and learning-disabled interview public figures and no question is off the table.

I’m happy to see that a UK series was commissioned (by ITV, a different broadcaster) and the first two programmes aired last weekend.

If you’re in the UK you can watch this on catch-up on ITVX, but you can also find episodes on YouTube.

Here is the candid interview with actor, Danny Dyer. One of my favourite moments in this episode is where Danny leads the group in meditation:

Another conversation I enjoyed and found insightful this month was this one on how lifestyle impacts brain ageing and dementia with Kimberley Wilson and Davina McCall: