My Weekend In… South-East London With Alice Tate

Saturday

My husband works on Saturdays, so I usually have the day to myself until mid-afternoon. I always wake up early and start with a cafetiere of coffee (I love our Le Creuset ceramic one). I’ll have a snack (or ideally leftovers from the night before – I’m a savoury person through and through) and then jump on my Brompton bike to go for a swim – I love cycling in London. It’s a 40-minute ride to Charlton Lido. Brockwell Lido is probably a little closer, but it’s not heated, and when I went last winter, I had blue lips afterwards! I’ll swim for 30 minutes, then cycle back. 
 
Back home, I’ll change out of my cycling clothes and into jeans. It’s always jeans – I live in Levi’s ‘Ribcage’ style. I’ll often call someone for a chat – usually my mum or my sister – while making brunch for one. I love dippy eggs or Meera Sodha’s overnight soy eggs from her East cookbook.
 
There’s an endless list of things to do with the house so these days, so more often than not I’ll likely spend the rest of the day painting or sanding. I really rate the paint from sustainable brand Coat.
 
Once my husband is back, we’ll go for a walk and maybe pop into a pub for a drink. I love the Herne Hill Tavern in Peckham or the Sylvan Post in Forest Hill. 
 
If we ever go out for dinner, Saturday night is the night. I never dress up (my wardrobe is strictly jeans, sweaters and shirts) but I’ll wear my Grensons with my jeans, and a slick of Mac lippy if I want to make an effort  – Devoted To Chilli is my new go-to shade. It's subtle, as I find masks and bold lipstick are a no-go. My local favourites are Larry’s, Forza Wine, Peckham Cellars (where we had part of our weddding last year) and Ganapati. We tend to do these on rotation, but purse strings are tight at the moment while we do up the house, so we usually cook at home. 
 
Ottolenghi’s baked rice with confit garlic and tomatoes is a recent discovery. As is his spaghetti with anchovies and samphire. I don’t eat meat, so we’ll always go veggie, then add in fish a few times a week. My go-to cookbooks are Simple by Ottolenghi, Fresh India and East by Meera Sodha and One by Anna Jones.

Sunday

Sundays are a real leisure day. They start slow with coffee in bed, then I’ll make breakfast – again, something like Indian eggs (scrambled with loads of coriander, tomatoes, onion and turmeric) or fried eggs on toast with loads of chilli sauce. I get through bottles of Cholula hot sauce at pace.
 
Next, we’ll go out somewhere local. I love a walk to Crystal Palace (there’s a great market in the park on Sundays and so many good antique shops and interiors stores), up to Blythe Hill for the view, or round Peckham and Nunhead. For a coffee, there’s Nola in Peckham which is always nice, and I love browsing the stores on and around Bellenden Road. Lamp London is nice for interiors, and General Store is the place to splurge on posh coffee, wine and pastries.
 
If we’re not out, we’ll do work on the house. My husband is more hands-on with the DIY and I’m the apprentice. Homelife is constantly accompanied by music. In the mornings and afternoons, it’s BBC Radio 6, in the evening it’s always a DJ mix from the archives on Soundcloud. Most recently, I’ve been listening to Bicep’s Essential Mix. I love disco and house music but haven’t been out dancing in ages. The two-year lag of the pandemic has made me suddenly feel old in my low-key lifestyle!
 
My Sunday night ritual is reading the weekend supplements in the bath. It’s always accompanied by oodles of 100 Acres bubble bath, an Earl of East candle and a glass of wine. 

We tend to eat late, so at 8ish I’ll cook. A tofu Thai green curry is always a crowd pleaser, or fish finger tacos – my dinner party special that we have ourselves at least once a week (can’t recommend buying a taco press more). I’ll try be in bed by 11pm, and set my alarm for 5:45am.  
 
For more ideas and inspiration, follow Alice at @Alice_Tate, join her home renovation at @ASouthLondonHome, and check out all things travel and photography at FlashAnthology.com