It was the day before New Year's Eve: Reflections on 2014

There are so many words I could use to describe 2014: challenging, emotional, grounding, full of sorrow but also happiness. Long story short, 2014 has been pretty life changing. There are probably many more I could pull out of the bag but both my limited vocabulary and time prevent me from spending too much further thought on this. I have lost someone but have been fortunate enough to be able to learn the true extent of friendship and gain a certain someone along the way.

New Year’s resolutions or learning to like myself a bit more

“No one could ever hate me as much as I hate myself, okay? So any mean thing someone's going to think of saying about me, I've already said to me, about me, probably in the last half hour.”

- Hannah, Girls

Its 10 days into 2014 and I am now back in London and back to reality after a relaxing 2 weeks at home. 2 weeks of no writing, hardly any emails and nothing more than time with my dog (not that she appreciated it), my family (they were glad to ship me back to London by the end) and my friends (sadly missed). 

Overcoming my writer’s block: Or why it is a good idea to let people surprise you

I am sat at my big worktable in a place I like to call my little paradise: our house in the south of France. It’s been 4 days since I stepped of the plane from London and into the peace and serenity of a place I call home. Bikini top and shorts, skin glistening with sunscreen; it is 28 degrees and slightly cloudy today. Perfect weather for writing. Except that, as might have been obvious by the lack of posts, I have suffered from the worst writer’s block. Yes there have been times when I have felt uninspired but never has the draught lasted aslong as this.

Does this make my bum look big? On how we see ourselves & self-esteem

"In the words of Oscar Wilde 'Be yourself; everyone else is taken'." - Carol Lake*

Every morning on my way into work I walk past a newspaper and magazine stand. The last time I actually bothered to take a look at any of the magazines on their shelves I, unsurprisingly, found most magazines trying to entice me to buy them by promising me a quick and easy way to the perfect body. Taking their offer seriously I should have the perfectly tall, lean, muscular body structure with long legs, straight, white teeth, long fingers (but not toes) and radiant skin that I have always dreamed of.