- Published on
The year started twirling a “glow sword”
Because in the land of the free and the brave
It’s easier to buy a gun than a sparkler
We applied for a fiance visa.
I flew back to London.
In February, I started house hunting,
Visited Brighton
And saw A Chorus Line at the Palladium
I watched women in black t-shirts and bright red lipstick
Rise and dance outside Parliament House.
We had a bake sale at the theatre.
I wandered the streets of London
Trying to feel at home.
In March, I saw Liza Minnelli at Royal Festival Hall.
In the midst of a snow storm
I moved to Ruislip.
Saw my friend’s play
Nights of Enchantment,
And over noodles, had a long and delightful conversation
With an old friend.
One bright chilly morning
I walked from Covent Garden to the Thames to Islington.
In April, I did quite the unthinkable
And quit my job ushering
At a west end theatre
And prepared to walk 780km across
Northern rural Spain
I saw the Lichtenstein retrospective at the Tate Modern
On the 30th April I caught the Eurostar
From London to Paris
And spent the day on trains heading
South across France to the Pyrenees
On the first day of May
I walked up and down the Pyrenees
Crossed into Navarra
And spent the next 31 days
Walking the width of Spain
Until I reached Santiago de Compostela
In June, I saw War Horse at the New London.
I flew over the Atlantic
To spend the summer with my love
We went to a wedding
And a Wesslmann pop art exhibit in Richmond
Drove through Washington DC, Jersey, New York, and Connecticut
And arrived
Home
At summer camp
We staged 2 full-scale musicals
In 8 weeks
I taught singing and voice
And melted in the heat
Watched Yo Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra
At Tanglewood
And walked a rainbow chalk labyrinth
Smudged and glowing from rain
In August
I saw Matilda, Once, and Peter and the Starcatcher in NYC
And wandered the streets of Manhattan praying for a miracle.
I unwillingly flew back to London
And moved to the south east.
I worked as a temp
At an international commercial property research company
Two finance firms
Two publishing houses
And spent my days behind reception desks around London
Writing and researching my play.
I saw Blue Stockings at The Globe.
In September, I quietly turned 29
In one of the offices of London
And in the evening saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, with my big brother
I saw Grounded at The Gate Theatre
And did a workshop on writing solo material
I traveled to Bath to audition for a play
I saw Once with my Australian singing teacher
And remembered why I was doing what I was doing.
I saw A Doll’s House at The Duke of York
And had to talk myself into staying for the second act.
I went blackberry picking in Southminster
And made a blackberry pie.
In October, I had my interview with the US Consulate
And was rejected
I waited for a piece of paper
Declaring my lack of criminal record
To be sent from Australia to the UK
Via snail mail
I waited for my file to be lifted from the hundreds of other files
In someone’s office
I saw Trevor Ashley perform
Liza on an E
And Malala Yousafzai speak at Queen Elizabeth Hall
I went to the London Dungeon and SeaLife Aquarium with my first London friend
I saw The Light Princess at the National Theatre
And a debate between the founder of No More Page 3
And three playboy bunnies
In Carnaby St.
I went to Brighton with Mum and
Rode the carousel on the pier.
The next day I was the sickest I have been since moving to London
Ten months of waiting catching up with my stomach.
In November, I saw Matilda at the Cambridge
One last time
Walked along the Thames
Saw the Christmas lights in Oxford St and
Bid farewell to London.
I flew across the Atlantic
To be with my love
And, finally,
We were married.
In December
I worked on my play
Went to my first American audition
And was cast in my first Shakespeare
I discovered I could run in below freezing temperatures
Volunteered in a second-hand bookshop
Learnt to play the ukulele
Went to a Warhol exhibit
And wandered through Old Town admiring the fairy lights.
We started our happily ever after
The end.
Because in the land of the free and the brave
It’s easier to buy a gun than a sparkler
We applied for a fiance visa.
I flew back to London.
In February, I started house hunting,
Visited Brighton
And saw A Chorus Line at the Palladium
I watched women in black t-shirts and bright red lipstick
Rise and dance outside Parliament House.
We had a bake sale at the theatre.
I wandered the streets of London
Trying to feel at home.
In March, I saw Liza Minnelli at Royal Festival Hall.
In the midst of a snow storm
I moved to Ruislip.
Saw my friend’s play
Nights of Enchantment,
And over noodles, had a long and delightful conversation
With an old friend.
One bright chilly morning
I walked from Covent Garden to the Thames to Islington.
In April, I did quite the unthinkable
And quit my job ushering
At a west end theatre
And prepared to walk 780km across
Northern rural Spain
I saw the Lichtenstein retrospective at the Tate Modern
On the 30th April I caught the Eurostar
From London to Paris
And spent the day on trains heading
South across France to the Pyrenees
On the first day of May
I walked up and down the Pyrenees
Crossed into Navarra
And spent the next 31 days
Walking the width of Spain
Until I reached Santiago de Compostela
In June, I saw War Horse at the New London.
I flew over the Atlantic
To spend the summer with my love
We went to a wedding
And a Wesslmann pop art exhibit in Richmond
Drove through Washington DC, Jersey, New York, and Connecticut
And arrived
Home
At summer camp
We staged 2 full-scale musicals
In 8 weeks
I taught singing and voice
And melted in the heat
Watched Yo Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra
At Tanglewood
And walked a rainbow chalk labyrinth
Smudged and glowing from rain
In August
I saw Matilda, Once, and Peter and the Starcatcher in NYC
And wandered the streets of Manhattan praying for a miracle.
I unwillingly flew back to London
And moved to the south east.
I worked as a temp
At an international commercial property research company
Two finance firms
Two publishing houses
And spent my days behind reception desks around London
Writing and researching my play.
I saw Blue Stockings at The Globe.
In September, I quietly turned 29
In one of the offices of London
And in the evening saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, with my big brother
I saw Grounded at The Gate Theatre
And did a workshop on writing solo material
I traveled to Bath to audition for a play
I saw Once with my Australian singing teacher
And remembered why I was doing what I was doing.
I saw A Doll’s House at The Duke of York
And had to talk myself into staying for the second act.
I went blackberry picking in Southminster
And made a blackberry pie.
In October, I had my interview with the US Consulate
And was rejected
I waited for a piece of paper
Declaring my lack of criminal record
To be sent from Australia to the UK
Via snail mail
I waited for my file to be lifted from the hundreds of other files
In someone’s office
I saw Trevor Ashley perform
Liza on an E
And Malala Yousafzai speak at Queen Elizabeth Hall
I went to the London Dungeon and SeaLife Aquarium with my first London friend
I saw The Light Princess at the National Theatre
And a debate between the founder of No More Page 3
And three playboy bunnies
In Carnaby St.
I went to Brighton with Mum and
Rode the carousel on the pier.
The next day I was the sickest I have been since moving to London
Ten months of waiting catching up with my stomach.
In November, I saw Matilda at the Cambridge
One last time
Walked along the Thames
Saw the Christmas lights in Oxford St and
Bid farewell to London.
I flew across the Atlantic
To be with my love
And, finally,
We were married.
In December
I worked on my play
Went to my first American audition
And was cast in my first Shakespeare
I discovered I could run in below freezing temperatures
Volunteered in a second-hand bookshop
Learnt to play the ukulele
Went to a Warhol exhibit
And wandered through Old Town admiring the fairy lights.
We started our happily ever after
The end.
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