Just Emma

Hello, lovelies. We’ve just pasted the one-year anniversary of lock down, one year of closed shops, restaurants and theatres. This morning, on the radio, people we encouraged to call in and let the world at large know what they’ve learnt over the past year, and what they were looking forward to when the lock down is lifted. So I asked myself, what have I learnt whilst being stuck at home? And what am I looking forward to doing once the world is open again? Clothes shopping? A weekend away? Watching a live gig or concert? What is the one thing that I’ve missed the most? And how can I have learnt anything while being stuck in doors? As the clock ticked down to the end of 2019 and the possibilities of the year to come shone so brightly, we all knew that the 2020 was going to be our year. We’d all worked so hard, that 2020 was most definitely going to be the year to end all years. I was planning on doubling down at work, saving as much money as I could, and take my children to ...

Hello, lovelies. The days are definitely getting lighter. The winter coats are being put away, safely back in the wardrobes for another year. And with the arrival of the beautiful cherry blossom on the trees, it appears that spring is finally here. The weather is getting warmer, is this truly a sign if things to come, or are we counting our chickens before they hatch? I think that the one thing that we can be truly happy about is that spring is here. All my dark winter clothes seem out of place in the new sunshine. My customary knee-high boots are beginning to be too hot and uncomfortable to wear all day long. And I find myself daydreaming of summer holidays in far off shores. But am I jumping on to the spring bandwagon way too soon? What if the weather changes again, as it often does, and I’ll need that heavy winter coat again? If I switch out my winter wardrobe for my summer clothes, will I look silly if everyone else is still wearing their full winter gear and I’m in shorts ...

Hello, lovelies. Today is International Women’s day. A day we can all celebrate the achievements of women, and those that identify as such. But what is it this day really about? And why are women only celebrated on one day of the year? While we unite on International Women's Day to celebrate, why is it that there is no true gender equality anywhere in the world? And what does the 8th March have to do with any of this? Shouldn’t women be celebrated every day? Am I missing something or is today the day we all stand up and say, ‘no more.’ We need to celebrate women everyday! To be honest, if it hadn’t had been for Facebook telling me so, I wouldn’t have had a clue that today was all about inspirational women. I didn’t learn about this day at school. So, on doing a bit of research, I was pleasantly surprised that it has been around since it was first celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. It was created by a woman called Clara Zetkin. And the date...

Hello, lovelies. We have all experienced bad news in our lives. It can come as a complete surprise that can stop us in our tracks. And then we can hear some news that isn’t holy unexpected. But how are we supposed to react? In that split second, as our emotions take a nosedive, we have to compose and contain ourselves. How much is too much emotion? Do we always need to cry at bad news? What if the news is bad, but doesn’t affect us at all? What if the bad news is something that we couldn’t care less about? What are we supposed to do in a situation like that? How are we supposed to feel in these moments? I was, as usual, running late for work on Friday morning. Mornings are not my best subject at the best of times. In a mad dash I grabbed my coffee and coat and jumped into my beloved car. Starting the engine, I put it into reverse, but nothing happened. The car didn’t move, didn’t it know that I was late for work? How could it do this to me? What was the problem? Had the bin men...

Hello, lovelies. We all have basic human needs, that currently are incredibly easy to meet. For the most part, food is easily accessible. Even with Covid and Brexit. In England, we still access to free health care, and I really hope that it stays that way. Education isn’t a luxury, but free to all children. So what could happen that could disturb this equilibrium? Is there anything that could go wrong or break down leaving us alone and cold in the dark? Are we at the helm of our own ship? Or could that one catastrophe hit us and we’re going down without a lifeboat? With the year we’ve been having, the last thing I needed was for my ancient boiler to break down. No, not break down, I mean die with no hope for resurrection. And to top it off, it died on the day that we had snow. Beautiful but cold snow. Snow that everyone was enjoying, happened to be one of the scariest things to happen to my family. How could I keep my children warm on the coldest night of the year? So, after...

Hello, lovelies. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually have some free time? To not have to do anything? To sit and read, or watch that series that we’ve meaning to watch but can never seem to find the time? To go for that walk, start running or begin a new hobby. All those things we’ve been putting off for that time when we can put ourselves first. But when will that time come? How will we know when it’s here? And what happens if we miss our opportunity to do something for ourselves? With life hurtling forwards, when will we be able to stop and just breathe? I recently broke my wristwatch. Now, that is something I do very often. As soon as I buy myself a new watch I either drop it, swing my arm in a way that I hit the watch on the wall, or drop in down the toilet when the strap brakes. Watches and I are not friends. So, I went on the search for a new sturdier watch. And as most shops are still closed, I did that thing that I’m not proud of, I began my s...

Hello, lovelies. With Valentine’s day a distant memory, and after having eaten my own body weight in pancakes, we are now in Lent, a time where, even if we’re not religious, we can think about giving something up. Whether it be cigarettes, the large glass of wine at the end of each day, or forty days with no social media. What ever it is that we’re giving up, should we only be doing it for Lent? Is it right to go back to old habits when Lent is over? Or should we just give it up for good? I’ve given up many things for Lent over the years. One year it was chocolate, hard to do, but I did it. Only to go and buy all the marked down Easter eggs the day after Easter and eat the whole lot, with a little help from my children of course. The year I gave up coffee is best left in the past, charges are still pending. But as I don’t drink, smoke and the only drugs I’ve ever taken are paracetamol. It seems silly to start a 20 a day habit whilst binge drinking and eating a magic mush...