- Published on
At work
An actress whom I daily admire
Said to me
“Every time I see you, I think of a young Liza”
And it thrilled me
Because to be told you look like one of your heroes
Is
Well, thrilling
Now I know
That just looking like one of your heroes
Doesn’t make you like
One of your heroes
Looks do not give you
A phenomenal belt
Or amazing dance skills
Or a guaranteed career
But it does
Boost one’s confidence
And tells you to keep going
When I cut off all my hair
“Pixie” cut
I never intended to look like Liza
I cut it off
Because I wanted to
And, honestly,
It was one of the most liberating days of my life
I’m keeping my hair short
Because it’s me
And that’s the person
Who I most want to be
When I grow up
The end.
An actress whom I daily admire
Said to me
“Every time I see you, I think of a young Liza”
And it thrilled me
Because to be told you look like one of your heroes
Is
Well, thrilling
Now I know
That just looking like one of your heroes
Doesn’t make you like
One of your heroes
Looks do not give you
A phenomenal belt
Or amazing dance skills
Or a guaranteed career
But it does
Boost one’s confidence
And tells you to keep going
When I cut off all my hair
“Pixie” cut
I never intended to look like Liza
I cut it off
Because I wanted to
And, honestly,
It was one of the most liberating days of my life
I’m keeping my hair short
Because it’s me
And that’s the person
Who I most want to be
When I grow up
The end.
- Published on
Dear apple and cheese,
Thank you for being in my fridge at the end of a long day.
Love,
Tired-but-feeling-better-thanks-to-deliciousness-and-grateful-that-I-have-a-roof-over-my-head-and-food-in-my-belly-and-sometimes-really-that's-the-world-to-be-grateful-for-the-end.
Thank you for being in my fridge at the end of a long day.
Love,
Tired-but-feeling-better-thanks-to-deliciousness-and-grateful-that-I-have-a-roof-over-my-head-and-food-in-my-belly-and-sometimes-really-that's-the-world-to-be-grateful-for-the-end.
- Published on
On Sunday
Kerry Ellis
Musical theatre star and beltress
Tweeted about running in the cold
And how it hurt
But she did it anyway
To be honest
The cold puts me off
From running
My Aussie self is afraid of it
I'd had an unwritten rule
Though loudly spoken
I would not run when it was colder than
8 degrees celsius (46 fahrenheit)
Because let's face it
No one likes running
And feeling like your nose will fall off
Or spending most of the run trying to be warm
But, if
Kerry Ellis
Musical theatre star and beltress
Maintains a running schedule
Even in the bitter cold
Then
Luisa Lyons
Aspiring musical theatre star and beltress
Must maintain a running schedule
Even in the cold
And today
With the mercury barely meeting 2 degrees celsius
I rugged up
I donned thermals and a beanie
I plugged in my headphones
And I went running
It was cold
There was still snow
in the park
But I ran
And it felt good!
The breathing stopped hurting
The air stopped feeling so brisk
I ran 4km
And running past the unmelted snow
Was delightful
The end.
Kerry Ellis
Musical theatre star and beltress
Tweeted about running in the cold
And how it hurt
But she did it anyway
To be honest
The cold puts me off
From running
My Aussie self is afraid of it
I'd had an unwritten rule
Though loudly spoken
I would not run when it was colder than
8 degrees celsius (46 fahrenheit)
Because let's face it
No one likes running
And feeling like your nose will fall off
Or spending most of the run trying to be warm
But, if
Kerry Ellis
Musical theatre star and beltress
Maintains a running schedule
Even in the bitter cold
Then
Luisa Lyons
Aspiring musical theatre star and beltress
Must maintain a running schedule
Even in the cold
And today
With the mercury barely meeting 2 degrees celsius
I rugged up
I donned thermals and a beanie
I plugged in my headphones
And I went running
It was cold
There was still snow
in the park
But I ran
And it felt good!
The breathing stopped hurting
The air stopped feeling so brisk
I ran 4km
And running past the unmelted snow
Was delightful
The end.
- Published on
You wake up and the ground and trees and rooftops are white
And the air is so crisp!
And snowflakes are literally falling from the sky!
And your little Aussie heart
Which grew up in a place where winters are nothing but cold and grey
And rainy
Just sings
Because snow
Is every bit as magical
And exciting
As the television and movies
Make it out to be
No matter that London almost comes to a complete standstill
Let it pause
And be entranced
And quiet
And still
Even if only for a morning
The end.
And the air is so crisp!
And snowflakes are literally falling from the sky!
And your little Aussie heart
Which grew up in a place where winters are nothing but cold and grey
And rainy
Just sings
Because snow
Is every bit as magical
And exciting
As the television and movies
Make it out to be
No matter that London almost comes to a complete standstill
Let it pause
And be entranced
And quiet
And still
Even if only for a morning
The end.
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Dear Me-Four-Years-Ago,
You are about to go back to London for your second visit. It will be covered in snow. The tube will be in total disarray and it will take you four hours to travel from Heathrow to Islington. All the tourist attractions will close early. You will not make it inside St. Paul’s Cathedral despite your best efforts. Don’t worry about the admission to Westminster, it’s totally worth it. Don’t worry that you don’t visit the West End. You will discover that traveling solo is Where. It. Is. At. You will discover that walking through London is magical. You will feel like you belong in Europe no matter what your passport says. When Susan says goodbye to you at Paddington after a week of wandering, sight-seeing, and Londoning, you will cry. You will feel as if you are leaving too early. You make a promise to yourself that you will return, and that you will one day live overseas.
Dear Me-Four-Years-Ago, you come back. You have a Spanish passport. And yes, you live overseas. You make it inside St Paul’s Cathedral. You climb to the roof and with the rooftops of London as your background, you kiss a wonderful boy who turns out to be even more wonderful than you already think he is. You go to drama school. You get an agent. You are
an actor living in London. Truly.
In fact, one night, nearly four years from now, you will walk from your place of work, a theatre in the West End, to Embankment. You won’t even need a map. And you will easily navigate your way to Angel. And after a lovely dinner, you will travel home on the tube. And the air will smell crisp, and the ground will be gritted in preparation for the promise of snow. And you will remember this time four years ago, and how you couldn’t even conceive how it could all be possible, and you laugh.
The end.
You are about to go back to London for your second visit. It will be covered in snow. The tube will be in total disarray and it will take you four hours to travel from Heathrow to Islington. All the tourist attractions will close early. You will not make it inside St. Paul’s Cathedral despite your best efforts. Don’t worry about the admission to Westminster, it’s totally worth it. Don’t worry that you don’t visit the West End. You will discover that traveling solo is Where. It. Is. At. You will discover that walking through London is magical. You will feel like you belong in Europe no matter what your passport says. When Susan says goodbye to you at Paddington after a week of wandering, sight-seeing, and Londoning, you will cry. You will feel as if you are leaving too early. You make a promise to yourself that you will return, and that you will one day live overseas.
Dear Me-Four-Years-Ago, you come back. You have a Spanish passport. And yes, you live overseas. You make it inside St Paul’s Cathedral. You climb to the roof and with the rooftops of London as your background, you kiss a wonderful boy who turns out to be even more wonderful than you already think he is. You go to drama school. You get an agent. You are
an actor living in London. Truly.
In fact, one night, nearly four years from now, you will walk from your place of work, a theatre in the West End, to Embankment. You won’t even need a map. And you will easily navigate your way to Angel. And after a lovely dinner, you will travel home on the tube. And the air will smell crisp, and the ground will be gritted in preparation for the promise of snow. And you will remember this time four years ago, and how you couldn’t even conceive how it could all be possible, and you laugh.
The end.
- Published on
I stood behind my kiosk and called out,
Programs! £5!
And one of the other ushers stood behind his kiosk and called out,
Drinks! Various prices!
And we chuckled because it was silly
And he said
I’m determined to be your inspiration today
And he was
Because sometimes all you need is
Someone else who is willing to smile
And share the ridiculous.
The end.
Programs! £5!
And one of the other ushers stood behind his kiosk and called out,
Drinks! Various prices!
And we chuckled because it was silly
And he said
I’m determined to be your inspiration today
And he was
Because sometimes all you need is
Someone else who is willing to smile
And share the ridiculous.
The end.
- Published on
Whilst I was running in the park
A photographer had stopped on the grass
And was looking up at a tree
A kite had been left in the empty branches
Looking like an overgrown leaf
Like the tree had mustered the last of its autumnal energy
Combined all its palette into one gigantuan effort
And pushed out a fabulous frond in bright technicolor glory
And with my eyes opened
I later spotted a blossom tree in full bloom
In the middle of winter!
It was so pretty
So unexpected!
And I gave silent thanks
To the photographer
Whose eyes I hadn't even met
For helping me to see
Close up
The end
A photographer had stopped on the grass
And was looking up at a tree
A kite had been left in the empty branches
Looking like an overgrown leaf
Like the tree had mustered the last of its autumnal energy
Combined all its palette into one gigantuan effort
And pushed out a fabulous frond in bright technicolor glory
And with my eyes opened
I later spotted a blossom tree in full bloom
In the middle of winter!
It was so pretty
So unexpected!
And I gave silent thanks
To the photographer
Whose eyes I hadn't even met
For helping me to see
Close up
The end
- Published on
There is something comforting in the fact
That every day
A show is being performed
The people are singing
Masquerades are on parade
Children are revolting
Somewhere around the world
The story of a boy band is being told
In neat
Introduction, climax, denouement form
With feel good songs
And slick choreography
Every day
The performers are singing and dancing
The costumers re-hanging shirts and wigs and dresses
The stage hands striking and re-setting props
And getting ready to do it all again
No show is ever the same twice
The audience is always different
Sometimes a line is dropped
A prop forgotten
The cast slightly shuffled
And every day
There is someone in the audience
Watching it all for the first time
Laughing, sighing, gasping
And walking out of the theatre
Feeling happier
Feeling uplifted
And I get to meet that someone
Eight times a week
And I get to watch it all
Eight times a week
And feel comforted that
Every day a show is being performed.
The end.
That every day
A show is being performed
The people are singing
Masquerades are on parade
Children are revolting
Somewhere around the world
The story of a boy band is being told
In neat
Introduction, climax, denouement form
With feel good songs
And slick choreography
Every day
The performers are singing and dancing
The costumers re-hanging shirts and wigs and dresses
The stage hands striking and re-setting props
And getting ready to do it all again
No show is ever the same twice
The audience is always different
Sometimes a line is dropped
A prop forgotten
The cast slightly shuffled
And every day
There is someone in the audience
Watching it all for the first time
Laughing, sighing, gasping
And walking out of the theatre
Feeling happier
Feeling uplifted
And I get to meet that someone
Eight times a week
And I get to watch it all
Eight times a week
And feel comforted that
Every day a show is being performed.
The end.
- Published on
Yesterday I made a pact
To find one thing a day
That was inspiring or
Lovely or
"Magical, beautiful, delightful"
And today
I started
One a day
It was standing on the train
And listening to strangers talk about musicals
And smiling at them
Because I knew what they were talking about
And then seeing them in the theatre an hour later
And laughing with them because we recognized each other
And they realized why I had smiled
It was receiving a message from a dear friend
Knowing he is on the same page
Several thousand miles away
It was coming home on the train
And being so engrossed in my book
The journey felt quick
It was getting home from a long day
And opening a new hand soap for the bathroom
And the smell being so delicious
It reminded me to breathe deeply
It was hearing my love’s voice on the phone
It was being on the lookout for things
Inspiring, beautiful, and lovely
That reminded me to let go
To not get caught up in the negative
And not be bogged down
It was writing about the nice things
And recalling, that despite a long day at work,
There were actually
Numerous moments of lovely
And taking pause
And breathing deeply
And saying
Okay.
To find one thing a day
That was inspiring or
Lovely or
"Magical, beautiful, delightful"
And today
I started
One a day
It was standing on the train
And listening to strangers talk about musicals
And smiling at them
Because I knew what they were talking about
And then seeing them in the theatre an hour later
And laughing with them because we recognized each other
And they realized why I had smiled
It was receiving a message from a dear friend
Knowing he is on the same page
Several thousand miles away
It was coming home on the train
And being so engrossed in my book
The journey felt quick
It was getting home from a long day
And opening a new hand soap for the bathroom
And the smell being so delicious
It reminded me to breathe deeply
It was hearing my love’s voice on the phone
It was being on the lookout for things
Inspiring, beautiful, and lovely
That reminded me to let go
To not get caught up in the negative
And not be bogged down
It was writing about the nice things
And recalling, that despite a long day at work,
There were actually
Numerous moments of lovely
And taking pause
And breathing deeply
And saying
Okay.
- Published on
Arriving back in London
After three weeks in a cabin in the woods
Is an assault on the senses
The advertising
The people
The rush.
Within ten minutes of getting off the plane
I could feel
Depression
Anxiety
Rising
And on a day where I feel bleary because I spent the night flying across the Atlantic
To arrive in a city that, try as I might, doesn't feel like home
To travel in peak hour and feel like the stereotype of a
Sardine in a can/rat on a treadmill/tiny insignificant speck
To see all those miserable people!
To stand in the shower and sob because I was back
To feel like the cabin in the woods was a dream
To miss my love across the ocean
I had a thought.
I don’t want to get sucked in to the misery
I don’t want to be hardened by the city
I don’t want to feel helpless hopeless and horrified
I want to see beyond the billboards and concrete tunnels
And hear something other than
I can’t/It’s too hard/it’s so tough
So here is a promise to myself
Everyday
I will write about something inspiring
Something magical, beautiful, delightful,
Just plain old nice
And hope
It makes a difference.
The end.
After three weeks in a cabin in the woods
Is an assault on the senses
The advertising
The people
The rush.
Within ten minutes of getting off the plane
I could feel
Depression
Anxiety
Rising
And on a day where I feel bleary because I spent the night flying across the Atlantic
To arrive in a city that, try as I might, doesn't feel like home
To travel in peak hour and feel like the stereotype of a
Sardine in a can/rat on a treadmill/tiny insignificant speck
To see all those miserable people!
To stand in the shower and sob because I was back
To feel like the cabin in the woods was a dream
To miss my love across the ocean
I had a thought.
I don’t want to get sucked in to the misery
I don’t want to be hardened by the city
I don’t want to feel helpless hopeless and horrified
I want to see beyond the billboards and concrete tunnels
And hear something other than
I can’t/It’s too hard/it’s so tough
So here is a promise to myself
Everyday
I will write about something inspiring
Something magical, beautiful, delightful,
Just plain old nice
And hope
It makes a difference.
The end.