On the Sofa: Summer jobs (romance!) & cream teas (and a couple of books). 

Vivi don't ever worry about always being 'joyous and uplifting'. Your intelligence and views are insightful and welcome. Life is messy, that's all there is to it, and if we only concentrate on the sunny side, well... it becomes pretty one dimensional doesn't it? I loved your reverie of walking on the beach. You are so descriptive, such a great story teller, I was right there with you! Thank you for all you do and bring. 💖

I worked in a hotel at age 52 and it was one of the best jobs I ever had! In the laundry! Happily folding gorgeous fluffy towels and crisp white sheets 6 days/week from 9-3. Unfortunately I could never make enough to pay my rent! Love your videos Vivi!!! Hello from SC!💕😊🏝️😎

We're similar age and your awesome story of your glorious summer of '85 was so vividly enjoyable, it brought me right back, too!!! Love "hanging out" with you on your channel. Love cream teas, also.

How very pretty you look! Good to hear about your memories Those were the days - young and free, Mary Quant dresses , first holiday in Spain, fantastic music in Liverpool , a 6ft gorgeous Glaswegian boy and, a holiday job in the basement of a hotel in Southport buttering bread, adding water to the butter to make it 'go around';- and lunch hour stepping out along the promenade.Being out and about at that time was so exciting,

I read Skloot’s book in 2021. Everyone should read it and learn about Henrietta. So glad you introduced it to your public. Thank you for sharing! 🙋🏻‍♀️🥰

Lovely stories from your past, summer romance sounded wonderful. I'm with you on the cream tea, jam first always lol. Thank you Vivi xXx

Oh my gosh! Here in Indiana my mother loved her baked goods. When I was learning about international baking we fell in love with the idea of British Cream Teas! We agreed : one simply MUST sandwich the fruity sweet between the dairy fats! I can taste and feel EVERYTHING about that time (mid 1980s). Thank you for sharing your memories!

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I agree with you Vivi. Has to be jam with the cream topper!!! Sounds scrumdidilyumtious!!!!😊

I've had strawberry, blueberry, raspberry but my favorite was mandarin orange jam. They do sell Devon clotted cream online, but I use my granny recipe. But I make mine with shortcake biscuits. I prefer the jam first and I love it served while the shortcake is warm. My problem is finding a good cup of tea to go with it. That would be so wonderful if you could find a place affordable by the seaside & with a little garden that would be heaven. ~Sharron

Lovely nostalgic video! I’ve had The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks on my to-read list for a few years, I’ll have to bump it to the top of the list. Speaking of books related to medical topics, I’m currently reading “Whole Brain Living” by Jill Bolte Taylor and it is fascinating. She is a neuroscientist that suffered a stroke that caused her left brain to go offline. She later discovered the 4 characters of our brain that make up who we are and how we can choose in any moment which part of the brain to engage. A lovely quote from the book… “Peace is just a thought away. It is always right there, and always available for you to embody.”

oh my goodness you have just evoked memories that I had forgotten about. Love your channel keep safe lovely. xx

Jam first all day long. 😂 I’ve wanted to read Henrietta Lacks for so long, thanks for the review x

If I could give this video multiple thumbs up ‘likes’, I would. Great video, Vivi! It was fun especially on Good Memories Lane in the 1980’s. 🏖

Yep, definite experience. of this. Age 16 cooking or 120 young people three meals each day! in an outward bound centre. My famous memory is burning 116 boiled eggs! what a memory! Loved it!

Jam then cream for me❤

Hi Vivi, the big supermarkets sell clotted cream - Rodda's. Cream first for me :) as I think it is a substitute for the butter, then raspberry jam. My nan told me that you could post clotted cream up from Cornwall and Devon when she was younger, some special service. I love the stuff.

Lovely summer recollections! …Jam first - then clotted cream!😌 Mmmmm. Thank you💕

Gosh you are so talented and were so active x think by the sea or not far away may suit you?

What a delicious memory of your summer romance. You most definitely need and deserve a weekend trip back there or somewhere on the coast. I'd have to agree with you that it sounds more sensible to have the jam, then the cream. Otherwise, the weight of the jam would squish the cream out. Have a wonderful week! 💖

In Michigan we have a Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island that presidents, actors and all kinds of celebrities as well as regular folks can escape the summer heat. You have to get there by boat and no cars are permitted on the entire island.

We stayed at the Grand Hotel in November last year. Oh it was lovely. We had a sea front room. The view was gorgeous. Swanage is beautiful xx

Hi Vivi if I have a cream tea it has to be no butter but jam then clotted cream I only put butter on a scone if I’m not having the jam or cream. If you have an M&S near you with a cafe they do a decent afternoon tea for one for £10, ours say it’s usually after 2pm. It’s lovely for you to have the memories of your sisters and yours trips from the calendar she made for you. Heather

I love windsurfing - I’ve had to do it sitting down for the last ten years or so, as I’m not weight bearing down one side, but I absolutely love it! (...and it’s definitely jam first with cream on top.)

Hi Vivi, thank you for sharing such wonderful memories with us. I listened as I mopped the kitchen and hall floor. Time flew. Such a delight. Xx

I noticed a white feather floating near your left shoulder when you was emotionally talking about the book.. you may have feather bedding but it was nice to see at that moment xx

Ah boy …we all have to start somewhere … in the US we get ‘ working papers’ at 16 yrs. My first job was in a convalescent home …I was just a kid in high school! light housekeeping and serving meals…thanks for the memories..your hotel work was a lovely environment at least …what lovely memories , magical summer ! What romance! Intriguing story ! Love it ! THANK YOU FOR SHARING !!! ( a swooning sigh from me as I listened ) My goodness…the cream tea sounds so delightful …yes .. I’d think jam would be difficult to spread on cream anyhow…thanks for clarifying !! Good day ! Love, Marilyn xxx US

Hi Vivi, You recommanded The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks in this video. I ordered it and now I am being halfway the book. It is a heartbreaking story and really mind blowing. The way they treated her and all the others by experimenting on their bodies. Terrible. A few days ago there was an article about her in one of our well know leftside Dutch newspaper. The moment I told my friend I was reading a book about Henrietta she told me about the article. Such a coincidence! I am happy you spoke about this book, it is absolutely an amazing book. I love your videos so much and yesterday I was watching the video about potting your plants. And you made me so enthousiast about the one with the white flower, I ordered one using internet (broke my ankle, so I could not go to the plantshop myself!). Have a nice day and love from Holland!

Hiya Vivi, truly enjoyed a visit. Relate to all chat. Nice to see your smiling face. Blessings luv Ontario Canada Thankyou 🐝🇨🇦

Ahh the halcyon days of our youth… and cream teas! 😘🌸

totally enjoyed this, you are always calm to listen to when a positive distraction is in order. cream tea sounds nice, i'm scottish and we have tablet as a local treat

Some gorgeous summer memories so thank you for sharing. Going to have to agree to disagree with you on the cream tea as I am a cream first girl. No butter so a good dollop of clotted cream with a well in the top for the jam to go in so it doesn’t slide off. Always enjoy your book reviews.

Bless you

Thank you vivi

Lovely Video Vivi, for me it's always cream first, topped with the jam 😀 I really hope that you do get to move to the seaside.

I just love that blouse!

Hi Vivi, I love your videos so much! This one brought me back to my summer job in the hospital. Cleaning work. I loved it so much, the nuns (roman catholic hospital in Holland) were so nice, i loved every second of. Hard work but great. And i ordered the book of henriette, in english too. I love to read and speak so i think it will not be a problem. Take care !

Oh Vivi I’m with you on the raspberry over strawberry jam, the sharpness with the cream makes it perfect doesn’t it!

Beautiful vidio ❤️❤️❤️

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I love a good cream tea. My preference is jam then cream BUT if someone was to hand me a scone already done, with the jam on top of the cream, I’d still scoff it and love every mouthful. 😂

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Haha, remember them well, I did a holiday camp job on the Isle of Wight in that long hot summer of 76, you were just a baby!! I remember dropping a tray with 10 covers several times! The cheers from the campers still ring in my ears!!!!!

Cream teas, good books and reminisce about summer romances... That and a dog, I am all in! Life as it should be. I will have to check out the first book, I still miss my childhood family dr and nurse in our little town. They could solve anything! And they knew exactly when you needed a more specialized referral in a bigger practice in the nearest larger city. We had the best of both worlds!

American here, so never had clotted cream! Sounds delicious however!

Hi Vivi loved todays meanderings. My parents had a caravan in Pagham West Sussex. The caravan was antique back then 😂 every year we spent our summer holidays there and it was bliss. Well, the strip washing in the kitchen wasn't bliss 😅 Oh the memories 😂❤😂 Definitely a jam first. I think i listened to a podcast about the cancer cells and how horrible it was for her family. Thankfully i was at home crying. Has there ever been recognition for her and the medical breakthrough her cancer cells have done for medical science? Hugs and blessings xx Have a good week xx

Absolutely correct Vivi JAM FIRST!!!! 😁

I had my first baby at 18. Lovely!

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Oh, your summer romance ... how well you can still remember all the details. Perhaps the memory of it can give you a few lighter and happier hours. There is even a German translation of the book about Henrietta Lacks, but it is not available at the moment. In addition, it is traded from € 52, which is absolutely not in the range of my possibilities. I would have liked to read that once. Big hug and lots of love Claudia ❤

What a coincidence Vivi! I'm the same age as you and was just thinking about the same thing a couple of days ago! I could so identify with your lovely summer romance story! All I can say is that I put on so much weight from eating cream teas when I went back to work in Devon for the summer a few years ago! 😂❤

If you're going to Dorset I'm coming too. Looooove Dorset. And cream teas 😋 jam first. Lol

I have had a cream tea before and now I want one, too!!!! I can’t recall whether the cream or jam came first! I am able to buy Clotted Cream in my local supermarket - the jar says it comes from the UK. Not sure how good it is! Love the On the Sofa videos and this one was wonderful. XO

I've been fortunate to have had/ have PCPs ( primary care physician) over the course of the past 30 years. My current PCP "took me back" after the health plan I was on for awhile didn't have him in the plan. I think it definitely makes a difference to have continuity of care. It's just getting rarer and rarer herecin the States as well. And rural healthcare here is a disaster!

Hi vivi I live in the south west ❤

Make my own clotted cream and my is cream on top

North Devon is quite dramatic, owing to its geology….just saying ! Very beautiful !

Never heard of cream tea here in the USA but it seems like the jam would go first then the cream.

There are movies, documentaries based on the book and case history.

On a recent visit to my GP of 20+ years I asked her if she would be redistributing her patients within the clinic when she retires. The answer was as I predicted, sorry no. Only one of the partners is younger, the others like her are in their late fifties early sixties. She told me that only 2 out of the 32 local medical graduates chose family practice this year. We are already seeing more and more private for profit run clinics to fill gaps that our public national service can’t meet. Not good. Thanks for the chat. 🌟❤️ enjoy your cream tea!!!!

Jam first, absolutely (sorry to offend anyone)!! Yum either way, though 😊

It was funny that you had that card that looked like stained glass, because that was my first job! I'd had a class in stained glass my first semester in college, and I'd taken to it so well, the teacher offered me a job in his shop! It was lovely, but hard work when you are building art with someone else's expectations. Plus some of the pieces were massive! I can still smell the wood and the acid smell of the flux as the hot solder sizzles into it to join the lead pieces! No cute boys though, alas, although I did have a flirt or two with the handsome teacher! 😁 As to the tea, if you put the jam on top, wouldn't it slide off? 😏

In Australia we actually call it a Devonshire tea.

You are such a wonderful story teller Vivi. I worked in a hotel at that age and loved it too. 🥰

There was a settlement with the Lake family about two weeks ago.

Hi vivi me & my friend went to Devon has chamber maids yes it was hard work we had to help in the evening to wash pots in the kitchen did it for 2 years yes I was 18 ! that was a long time ago lv Irene 😘 xx

Sorry Vivi but the cream tea was invented in Devon!!!! Cream first!!!! I live here so eat lots of cream teas!!! Or you could so it the Welsh way, jam and cream side by side! Lol!!! Rhodda's do clotted cream in some supermarkets now, so worth a scout around. That book sounds sad, Henrietta should be recognised and a pardon given, things weren't done ethically in the 1950's sadly. I hope there is more respect now.

Hi Vivi, another very interesting insight of your life, thank you. I do have a question a little off topic but you mentioned your Lavender bags in this episode and it made me think....Actually the smell of Lavender is my most favourite flower . I do know they say certain scent's repel insects etc, so I was wondering if you know if Lavender being very aromatic if it will repel spiders, etc from the home ?. I know some recommend Mint or Sage but have you any idea if Lavender would so the same ?. I have an old house which has way to many spiders visiting, not wishing to kill them all, I'm hoping to repel .

Good video,taking the woman cells was not right without asking first

First job, wash up girl in a delicatessen

i have had my dr for over 30 years

Vivi as one of your Cornish viewers who has enjoyed many hours of your company I wish to send you an edible Cornish treat ? Will it be safe to send to your PO Box for collection and if so is there a date more suitable for you to collect ?

Oh you are so beautuful why are you not maried ❤️❤️❤️🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪💖

your opening struck a chord with me. Memories..... think Neil Diamond and 'Summer Love"..... both books sound really heavy reading, maybe not great timing for me. ?the second book particularly trying. But, when I look back at the 50's, and 60's ethics and related onus was very different. Treatment of diseases particularly cancer was not kind or gentle and there were few if any options including pain management regardless of wealth or the colour of your skin. It did not exist. Cancer unique to women was poorly researched if at all. Radicle mastectomies common as first and only treatment, heart disease, ovarian cancer.... you weren't feeling well.... hum, hysterical woman... take a pill dear you will feel better! " The doctors were "gods" and you dare to ask a question or raise a concern about your treatment. so yes, treated poorly, okay, but were those calls taken during treatment or biopsy to confirm the disease. post mortem, to see if treatment had any impact? 1951, the year I was born, young Moms were in bed for a week! twenty years later, we were up and out on baby day two! the 50's and 60's saw huge changes in society that impacted every single one of us. I should read the book so I have a better understanding, but I will add this. the times were not just hard on the black community. It was really hard on the poor and white too.

I am thinking Hallmark Google search the pic of your young man , maybe just maybe he is free and remembers ❤❤❤

Cream first! My Mum introduced me to the pleasure of a cream tea. Mum passed away many years ago. Each year on the anniversary of her birth, I visit a tea shop for a cream tea. We have tea shops in Canada that serve lovely cream teas. I savour the experience, and pretend that Mum is with me. 🫖 p.s. I enjoyed your recollections of youthful summers by the sea. I also look forward to your book reviews.