- Published on
A year ago today I knew I was moving to London but I didn’t know how
A year ago today my best friend was despairing that he would never meet someone and in six months he’s getting married.
A year ago today I had no idea what 2011 would bring but I knew it would be exciting.
And it was. It was exciting. It was lovely. It was hard. It was emotional. It was inspiring. It was draining. It was everything I had hoped it could be and so much more. I met my heroes. I fell in love. I moved to a whole other country.
And here we are on the brink of 2012.
The Occupy Movement is rustling.
I have six months left at school.
Another trip to America is on the cards.
After that? Who knows?
They say that 2012 was the end of the Mayan calendar
That the end of the world is nigh.
But I choose to believe it's all about to change.
There is a shift, a quickening, a change in the air,
And I’m not quite sure what it holds.
But I breathe, and trust, and light, and love,
And know that something’s just around the river bend.
Because something’s coming. Something good.
Could be. Hold still.
This is the beginning.
A year ago today my best friend was despairing that he would never meet someone and in six months he’s getting married.
A year ago today I had no idea what 2011 would bring but I knew it would be exciting.
And it was. It was exciting. It was lovely. It was hard. It was emotional. It was inspiring. It was draining. It was everything I had hoped it could be and so much more. I met my heroes. I fell in love. I moved to a whole other country.
And here we are on the brink of 2012.
The Occupy Movement is rustling.
I have six months left at school.
Another trip to America is on the cards.
After that? Who knows?
They say that 2012 was the end of the Mayan calendar
That the end of the world is nigh.
But I choose to believe it's all about to change.
There is a shift, a quickening, a change in the air,
And I’m not quite sure what it holds.
But I breathe, and trust, and light, and love,
And know that something’s just around the river bend.
Because something’s coming. Something good.
Could be. Hold still.
This is the beginning.
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Imagine going out for a stroll
And a little while from your house
Are not one, but three woods!
And they are part of ancient woodland systems
Visited by people for thousands of years
And you walk along a well-worn path
And although it is December
And the middle of winter
Everything is so green!
And you smile at the holly and the ivy
And the families playing soccer in the park
And the mud beneath your boots
And at the end of a long walk
You find yourself in an Indian restaurant
In the middle of London
Eating delicious courses of spicy tomato soups
And vegetables and rice mixed with large helpings of coriander
And you walk home
And the sun sets around 3pm
And you enjoy another cup of tea
And you think
This is London
And it is lovely.
The end.
And a little while from your house
Are not one, but three woods!
And they are part of ancient woodland systems
Visited by people for thousands of years
And you walk along a well-worn path
And although it is December
And the middle of winter
Everything is so green!
And you smile at the holly and the ivy
And the families playing soccer in the park
And the mud beneath your boots
And at the end of a long walk
You find yourself in an Indian restaurant
In the middle of London
Eating delicious courses of spicy tomato soups
And vegetables and rice mixed with large helpings of coriander
And you walk home
And the sun sets around 3pm
And you enjoy another cup of tea
And you think
This is London
And it is lovely.
The end.
- Published on
Remember the ice fairies in Fantasia
Who swooped across the world
And left frozen sparkling trails in their wake?
They visited my street tonight
Whilst I was out
Watching The Nutcracker
A new version of it
No sugarplum fairies or dancing Russians
Instead fluffy pink party girls and bikers
No grand balls
But an austere orphanage
Matthew Bourne’s uncanny ability to modernise and remake the classics
But the music remains
And Tchaikovsky’s score is still as beautiful now as it was when I was 7 and taking ballet and twirling around the living room with my arms up-
And walking home with my love’s hand in mine
The world had been visited by ice fairies
Fallen leaves on the ground covered in frost
Evergreens, the road, the post box, garbage bins
All sparkling silver, really as if the fairies had skipped over everything with their chilly toes and wintery wings
And the night was clear
And the stars were in the sky
And the air was chilly and crisp
And the fairies were invisible
But their glittery trails remained
The end.
Who swooped across the world
And left frozen sparkling trails in their wake?
They visited my street tonight
Whilst I was out
Watching The Nutcracker
A new version of it
No sugarplum fairies or dancing Russians
Instead fluffy pink party girls and bikers
No grand balls
But an austere orphanage
Matthew Bourne’s uncanny ability to modernise and remake the classics
But the music remains
And Tchaikovsky’s score is still as beautiful now as it was when I was 7 and taking ballet and twirling around the living room with my arms up-
And walking home with my love’s hand in mine
The world had been visited by ice fairies
Fallen leaves on the ground covered in frost
Evergreens, the road, the post box, garbage bins
All sparkling silver, really as if the fairies had skipped over everything with their chilly toes and wintery wings
And the night was clear
And the stars were in the sky
And the air was chilly and crisp
And the fairies were invisible
But their glittery trails remained
The end.
- Published on
Imagine one day you’re in London and you’re Living The Dream!
You’ve wanted to be an actress your Whole Life
And suddenly here you are!
At one of the top drama schools in the world!
And every day you climb the steps to the school and
Literally engraved into the rise of the steps
Are the names of people who’ve been here before.
People who have “Made It”
In the profession
This crazy business like no other.
Because what would it be like if your dreams actually came true?
What if you grew up and actually got to be who you wanted to be?
What if you were Mary Donaldson, an account manager from Tasmania? And what if one day you were in a pub in Sydney and this really attractive guy starts flirting with you and you think, “Gee, I like this one.” And you hang out for a few days, and the air is warm and the sky is blue, and it’s all rather festive because it’s the Olympics, and a few days later he turns to you and he says, “By the way, I’m the Crown Prince of Denmark. If you like me, like, like like me, you’re going to have to renounce your citizenship, learn Danish, and promise to bear my children. In exchange you get to a princess. Like, for real.” What do you do in that situation?
When people talk of Living The Dream, they don’t mention the self-doubt, or the
worry, or the anxiety.
Or that actually living the dream feels and looks different to what you
expected. Or that it could even be better than what you've imagined your
whole life, and that’s the overwhelming part?!
Did Mary sit in her room one night and pour her heart out to her best friend and say,“Ohmygod. I don’t know. I mean he’s wonderful. And I really love him. But he’s a prince!
An actual prince?! Isn’t that ridiculous?!”
Because what if you are,
What a prince would envision?
Although how can you know
Who you are till you know
What you want, which you don’t?
You know what you want. And you want to be an actress. And one day out of the blue,
without any guide, a chance to audition fell into your lap, and you seized it, and it worked out well, and you moved to London. And after all this training, you want to write and dance and sing and act and tell stories and have someone with money pay you to do it. And you want to reach out to people to make this world a better place. And you want to talk about what’s going on around you in an interesting and theatrical way. Because nothing else excites you like that idea. Literally no other job in the world has as much appeal.
You’re here. And you’re Living The Dream. And as Sondheim’s Cinderella says, yes,
“Sometimes it’s scary... And you have to wary.” But you keep going. And trust, trust, trust that the universe knows what it’s doing with you. Because one day, you just might end up not just on the steps, but inside the palace, and it just may be wonderful.
The end.
You’ve wanted to be an actress your Whole Life
And suddenly here you are!
At one of the top drama schools in the world!
And every day you climb the steps to the school and
Literally engraved into the rise of the steps
Are the names of people who’ve been here before.
People who have “Made It”
In the profession
This crazy business like no other.
Because what would it be like if your dreams actually came true?
What if you grew up and actually got to be who you wanted to be?
What if you were Mary Donaldson, an account manager from Tasmania? And what if one day you were in a pub in Sydney and this really attractive guy starts flirting with you and you think, “Gee, I like this one.” And you hang out for a few days, and the air is warm and the sky is blue, and it’s all rather festive because it’s the Olympics, and a few days later he turns to you and he says, “By the way, I’m the Crown Prince of Denmark. If you like me, like, like like me, you’re going to have to renounce your citizenship, learn Danish, and promise to bear my children. In exchange you get to a princess. Like, for real.” What do you do in that situation?
When people talk of Living The Dream, they don’t mention the self-doubt, or the
worry, or the anxiety.
Or that actually living the dream feels and looks different to what you
expected. Or that it could even be better than what you've imagined your
whole life, and that’s the overwhelming part?!
Did Mary sit in her room one night and pour her heart out to her best friend and say,“Ohmygod. I don’t know. I mean he’s wonderful. And I really love him. But he’s a prince!
An actual prince?! Isn’t that ridiculous?!”
Because what if you are,
What a prince would envision?
Although how can you know
Who you are till you know
What you want, which you don’t?
You know what you want. And you want to be an actress. And one day out of the blue,
without any guide, a chance to audition fell into your lap, and you seized it, and it worked out well, and you moved to London. And after all this training, you want to write and dance and sing and act and tell stories and have someone with money pay you to do it. And you want to reach out to people to make this world a better place. And you want to talk about what’s going on around you in an interesting and theatrical way. Because nothing else excites you like that idea. Literally no other job in the world has as much appeal.
You’re here. And you’re Living The Dream. And as Sondheim’s Cinderella says, yes,
“Sometimes it’s scary... And you have to wary.” But you keep going. And trust, trust, trust that the universe knows what it’s doing with you. Because one day, you just might end up not just on the steps, but inside the palace, and it just may be wonderful.
The end.