HTSI Editor’s Letter: Lily Allen’s Last Act

The funny thing about Lily Allen is that for all her sass and vinegar, the woman so often heralded as brash and irrepressible is incredibly vulnerable in real life. She’s also unapologetically honest, someone with the rare readiness to “go there” when she talks to the press. That generosity hasn’t always been kindly received. Allen found worldwide fame at a time when the media was more intrusive, and like so many female stars coming of age in that era, she paid a heavy price.

Allen’s metamorphosis in recent years, however, has been quite a major one: Gone are the gobby, beer drinkers. enfant terrible and in her place has emerged a slender, sober, gym-loving actress. She is part of a reinvention that began when she took the last drink of it in 2019. She moved to Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, actor David Harbor, and her children, and repositioned her career. her.

This month we will see her in the work of Martin McDonagh the pillow man, his second leading role on a West End stage. As with so much in Allen’s life, the decision seems to be as much an act of masochism as it is the kind of defiance he has always imposed on himself. She seems to thrive in environments that terrify her. And yet, despite the scrutiny she invites from her, she invariably takes her critics (and herself) by surprise.

In conversation with Alex Bilmes, talks about sobriety, failure and his current state of mind. Right now, she’s not ready to put out music. I hope she comes to her senses soon: in our house she is considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and we sincerely hope she records again.

Elsewhere in this issue, Victoria Woodcock explores the unlikely relationship between Enzo Enea and his landlady, a convent of Cistercian nuns. The Italian landscape architect approached the sisters 15 years ago about leasing land adjacent to theirs, then a swampy swamp. Since then, he has planted it with dozens of bald cypress trees, turning the area into a lush agricultural grove. He has also reconfigured the gardens to make them easier to care for. As a partnership, the nuns and the gardener make a lovely team. “Enea is a bit like a monk,” Sister Andrea says of her attentive lodger, which presumably means that she holds him in the highest regard.

Finally, my favorite topic: what is the best butter in the world? It’s a question that prompted the celebration of the Irish classic Kerrygold (by numerous aesthetes, among others). As I have an Irish husband, the claim that Kerrygold is the king of butters has never been up for debate, but I was curious what the “experts” thought. Ajesh Patalay turns to chefs, bakers and his own palate to find out which tastes better. (Spoiler alert: it’s Kerrygold.)

@jellison22