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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Michael Hogan

Sunday with Claudia Winkelman: ‘The kitchen usually looks like we’ve been burgled’

‘I scrub the bath as it’ll have a delightful teak rim, as if it’s been used for gravy-making’: Claudia Winkelman.
‘I scrub the bath as it’ll have a delightful teak rim, as if it’s been used for gravy-making’: Claudia Winkelman. Photograph: Lia Toby/Getty Images

Wake-up time? I wake early. I’m 50 – it just happened about three years ago. From being a sloth, I’m now like a meerkat at 6ish. Annoying but true. A nap will occur later.

Sunday breakfast? I’m beside myself about Sunday lunch so breakfast is small, slightly greasy and immediate. I just discovered ManiLife crunchy peanut butter – a gamechanger – so I’ll have that or Marmite on toast. I drink decaf because I can’t cope with the chaotic madness of caffeine. I had a deep roast espresso a decade ago and was awake for three days. Not my bag.

Sunday morning? Sloping about in ancient pyjamas with the papers, while looking for a pen for the sudoku.

Sunday chores? The kitchen usually looks like we’ve been burgled. Saturday is curry night, so there are spices and chunks of naan bread everywhere. We tidy up and if I’ve had a spray tan – I know, you thought this orange was real – I scrub the bath as it’ll have a delightful teak rim, as if it’s been used for gravy-making. Small price to pay, I say.

Sunday listening? Radio 2 is always on. I’m not just saying that because they employ me. I love Rev Kate Bottley and Steve Wright’s Love Songs.

Sunday outfit? Really bright colours. I’m joking.

Sunday supper? Whatever we didn’t eat at lunch. Often had while standing up. I know this isn’t the correct way to behave but we like it. Chatting about the movie we just saw, ambling about, opening and closing the fridge. Someone wants a boiled egg. Someone else is dipping the last roast potato in mayonnaise.

Bedtime? After my bath, I follow the kids around, wearing a flannel dressing gown I’ve had since the 80s. I’m tucked up with a book by 8.30pm. I love being 50.

Last thing? Check my kids’ school timetables. I’ve sent them in with the wrong games kit almost every day of their lives.

If you could be anywhere next Sunday? At home, doing what we always do. My 19-year-old is away at university, so I’d have him clamped to me. Maybe he could give up the degree, study dishwasher-loading and move back home. It’s an idea.

Claudia Winkleman’s Behind the Fringe tour is on until 10 May. See behindthefringe.live

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