Photography by Megan Westley
There’s plenty of strong advice we can take from Jane, one of our favourite fictional heroines, about the nature of love, finding inner resilience and more. But if you’ve no time for big changes here are a few simple things you can do to bring a bit more Jane into your life. With apologies to Charlotte Bronte.
Take up bird watching. It’s a relaxing diversion in times of crisis, particularly if your cruel cousins are being unkind. Losing yourself in Bewick’s History of British Birds is the best response and come Great Garden Birdwatch time in January, you’ll be pleased you spent the time so usefully.
Should you find yourself living at a charity school for girls, and your pitcher for washing your face is frozen solid in the morning, sprinkle a little rock salt on the surface to thaw it.
In times of distress, tea and seed cake is almost always a salve for the soul.
A sprained ankle, after a fall from a horse, perhaps, can be easily treated at home. NHS Direct prescribes rest, ice, compression and elevation. If the injured party can’t put weight on the ankle, offer assistance in walking home. Reader, I carried him.
You can remove the smell of damp dog from a rug by sprinkling the area liberally with baking soda and then Hoovering up the following day. Down, Pilot!
Noisy upstairs neighbours are a trial. Remember you can’t necessarily change their behaviour but you can change yours. Try to distract yourself and relax as much as possible before bedtime (perhaps with a cup of tea and some seed cake) to give yourself the best chance of dropping off, despite the din upstairs.
Candles can bring a relaxing atmosphere but if you’re going to have them in the bedroom make sure you don’t have long drapes around the bed. A simple divan looks cleaner and is less of a fire hazard.
If your house is larger than you need and expensive to heat, you can always consider closing off entire floors. Better still, think about downsizing to somewhere a little easier to maintain.
Never trust a fortune-teller arriving at your door unannounced during a party.
If you’re rather plain, don’t waste time and money on rouge and pearls, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, but you’re sure to have other talents to commend you to others. Perhaps potential suitors would like to hear your talk about British birds?
Fans of Jane Eyre shouldn’t miss our What I Treasure page in the March issue, in which Megan Westley tells us about her most treasured possession, the beautiful copy of Jane Eyre, pictured above.
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