Jocasta Innes Diary

Friends, fans, I am back on the colour/ paint path again ! The June issue of Grand Designs carries the first advertisement for my new Jocasta Innes Paint Collection. I worked on the paints, and the ad ,with Will MacCormac, ( honorary stepson) and it wasnt till we got stuck in paint mixing on my kitchen table that I realised how much I was missing all that playing about with colour, adding a touch of this and a soupcon of that in search of the ideal colour in my mind`s eye. It is a fiercely concentrated business, I might add, and Will and I ended each day limp, knackered and blinking hard to clear the colour spots from our eyes. We both had our faves - pink to red shades for me, a range of blues for Will, one of which,Dala Blue, stars in the ad - and we defended them passionately. OK, I smacked the table and got a bit hysterical, while Will, a cooler character, retreated into unbudgeable obstinacy. But I think we have concocted some mouth-watering colours which will grace any room, so I`m happy. I get so many e-mails from people who like my paint colours and cant find them now that Paint Magic and I have parted company - instead of explaining, and apologising for not being there now, I can point them all towards Spitalfield Interiors ( O2O7 377 I22I ).
I`ll tell you what I love about my new Collection.
The paints are all eco-friendly and will shortly carry the E.U. leafy sprig of approval.
They give exceptional coverage.
They will be delivered in short order ( 24 - 48 hours) to your door. Free, if your order exceeds £45.
There are not so many colours ( around 3O) that you get confused and can`t decide. But they are clean and gutsy, what I call stand-alone colours. Some neutrals, some classics, some vivid succulent hues and a sprinkling of up-and-coming fashion colours - chartreuse, Iznik rose.
Painterly colours, in a word !

Random April thoughts and discoveries.
THE PERFECT CUPPA. I drink a lot of tea and I am fussy - no teabags ( packaged sweepings), Twinings Earl Grey for preference, water just off the boil, three minutes stewing. But I didnt know that those brown tannin deposits in the pot should be cleaned off ( use a Brillo pad, rinsing well ) because they give the brew a stale, flat taste. Or that the water used to make it should be freshly drawn from the tap as well as grabbed just as it comes to the boil- ie not the water already in the kettle. Or that four minutes `standing' is the tea master's reccomendation for the perfect infusion.
HARISSA - in case you havent yet discovered those rich, ripely spiced Moroccan tagines, this is the fiery relish that is served alongside the meat,chicken or vegetable dishes which add a new dimension to the warming casserole, eaten piled onto couscous or burghul. Harissa is flaming hot, but eloquently, complexly spiced as well. Most supermarkets now stock small jars of Harissa and Rose Harissa under the brand name Belazu. Pausing to read the small print I find that there are many uses for harissa - add to a marinade, rub onto fish or meat before grilling, or stir a spoonful into a small cup of creme fraiche to make an instant hottish but delicious dip, or sauce ,for fish, chops, even chipolatas.
A GOOD READ - reading is my recreational drug,and I zip through paperbacks like other people munch crisps. I deeply envy anyone who hasnt yet come across Anne Tyler because her best work ( for my money, Ladder of Years) is a treat in store, acutely observant, witty, sometimes poignant but never glum.She sometimes strays into whimsicality but her ear for dialogue is mesmerising; the characters emerge, sudden as bubblegum, from the way they talk. And all her novels are set in Baltimore, a U.S. city I feel I know now as intimately ( I havent been there) as Jane Austen`s Bath or Lyme Regis.
But crime writers are what we ( my daughters are addicted likewise) choose first in crisp-eating mode. Not the violent brains-splattered-on-the wall genre, or the creepily detailed forensic stuff . What we snatch up and even steal from each other are the human interest takes on crime writing. Donna Leon and Henning Mankell are current favourites.Donna Leon sets her books always in Venice, Mankell invariably in Skane, the southernmost province of Sweden., which adds a touch of the exotic - the armchair travelling detective bit. But what grabs us is the personality, in both cases, of the police inspectors who link the series, weary, sceptical but shockable guys, who wince before murder and mayhem, steel themselves to watch the pathologist opening up cadavers, but are impelled to pursue their trade (always in the teeth of sneery resistance from their superiors) by a solid core of decency and moral outrage. Murder, sly or brutal, still shakes them up, which makes a change from the chilly professionalism of your Kay Scarpetta. One detail I find implausible however - how come these exceptional cops, who unravel such murky and dangerous imbroglios,always catching the culprit, never get promotion, remain frozen in a supplicant role beneath some lazy fat cat or hypocritical apparatchik ? Maybe there is another moral there ?

Any time you want to catch up on current decorating/interior trends a trip to Chelsea Harbour provides a quick over view- I spent some time there recently and spotted a definite shift away from neutral shades and plain fabrics ( goodbye minimalism?) towards a Renaissance richness of colour, and opulent textures - supple chenille, shimmering taffeta, and lots and lots of embroidery. After years of experiment, it seems, machines have been taught to embroider as exquisitely as French nuns, so your palest blue taffeta blooms with delicate floral motifs, a plain chenille is crunchy with contrast embroidered rosettes and lozenges, heavy linens carry a frosty tracery like lace. Interior fabrics have never been more sumptuous, and should you crave still more excitement it is on hand in the shape of glittering beaded fringes and lavish passementerie - the merest cushion drips with crystal drops. OK, this doesnt come cheap and it is not to everyone`s taste but it points the way interior style is moving, towards elaboration, surface interest, sheer swank....forget those simple curtains from Habitat and Ikea secured by tabs, nothing less than goblet headed pleats will do for the latest curtains !
There is a simpler tendency going alongside - heavy linen ( or linen look) fabrics with a handblocked air, printed in indigo or madder. Some of these look bold as Tudor crewelwork, but there are updated versions - Borderline has launched a collection of Enid Marx designs from 3Os to 5Os, in many colourways, featuring strong motifs with a hint of retro. These look vivid and pleasingly `studio print' without being pretentious.
Chandeliers are everywhere, top quality repro , almost indistinguishable from their antique forbears in terms of sparkle and delicacy. The chic way to light them up is with small snubby bulbs, not those twisty mock-candle bulbs.And for fun, you can add coloured glass drops and danglers, pears, apples, leaves.Sold separately.
Guinea fowl feathers,dashingly patterned in black/white/cream, are overlaid in a feathery mosaic on paper lampshades.
Colour news - natural dye shades like madder red, indigo, saffron predominate. But a retro colour which is coming up. redolent of John Fowler`s work in the 5Os, is chartreuse or lime green. Suddenly, having shaken off its period dowdiness, it looks fresh,sparky and alluring mixed with almost any colour you can think of - one reason, I am sure, why it appealed to Fowler in the first place.