Just Emma

Hello, lovelies. After 40 long days of Lent, we can now celebrate with our families, eat our entire body weight in chocolate and enjoy ever increasing the sunshine. Easter has always been one of my favourite holidays. And not just because chocolate is one of my favourite food groups. But does Easter mean the same to me as everyone else? Have we lost sight of what the true meaning of Easter is? Does history and religion still have the same importance in our day to day lives? Or is there a hidden Easter egg hidden in plain sight? And that we need to look past all the pomp and expense and look for the true everyday meaning behind Easter. It is no secret that I live for chocolate. It’s my one true love. It’s not that I prefer it to my children, but it’s a close call. Nothing lifts my spirits more than the sight of shelf after shelf, row after row of beautifully wrapped, delicious chocolate eggs. What could mean more to the meaning of Easter than heavily packaged and processed,...

Hello, lovelies.             Sticks and stones my break my bones, but a joke will never hurt me. Never has a single slap been heard across the globe and divided so many. Was it the right reaction in the defence of a wife and loved one? Have we all collectively lost our sense of humour? Have we lost the ability to laugh at a pretty lame joke, that to be honest I didn’t even understand? And, so what? Standing up for those that we love should be commended, shouldn’t it? And it was only a slap. A simple swing of the arm. No thought. No intent. Just a simple reaction to a badly thought out joke. And so what if Will Smith put his hands on another human being in anger and violence. I mean, it’s the norm isn’t it? We’re all able to hit anyone one we want for saying anything about us. Or are we missing the big picture? Have we been blinded by our love for a Hollywood super star? And putting our hands on anyone, regardless of the circumstances, is never the ans...

Hello, lovelies.          London is an amazing and diverse place. All day every day we are fortunate enough to have the pick of all kinds of foods. If we had a taste for almost anything, all we would have to do is open our phones and within seconds we could find exactly what it was that we were hungering for. From a costly a la carte menu to a humble pie and mash. From the exotic to the mundane. We are spoilt for choice. More than that, we couldn’t even attempt to try every dish that is on offer. That cannot be fair, we can have everything we want, whilst 8.9% of the worlds’ population is hungry. That acquaints to 690 million people. And yet, for most of us, with a few simple clicks of the keyboard and we can have anything we want delivered. Is that right and fair? But what can we really do for all those people living in far off places? Are we just a privileged nation that has earnt the right to have what we want? Or should we be getting our human priorities in...

Hello, lovelies.             Teaching, one of the noblest professions, a job that is never taken lightly, finds itself, once again, under threat. But why? Shouldn’t we raise up those who have dedicated their lives to moulding and shaping our children’s futures. They can take a difficult or challenging subject and bring it to life. They can inspire our children to go out into the world and be the very best that they can be. Why, then, are these hard working and life changing teachers under even more pressure? The hare-brained scheme of the government to fire and rehire our teachers, all so they can reduce their pensions, pile on more hours all for the benefit of saving a few extra pounds. Where is the logic in that? Why chastise our teachers that do, all so these who don’t have a clue about shaping the minds of our children can dream up ways to keep our children in the dark? Should we stay quiet, allow the steal to happen? Or does our society deserve better...

Hello, lovelies.            With Christmas fading from memory, it can only mean one thing in my household, it’s panto time. A month of writing the script, four months of rehearsing one night a week till January when my entire life is taken over and consumed by our local community theatre group’s yearly pantomime. Costumes have been either bought or made. The bar is fully stocked. And my Amazon buying history is a little eye opening. But all our efforts are put on to the stage where my ready, willing and able actors perform in front of packed pews. And this year was no different. But with the uncertainty of Covid, and the rules ever changing to us even being allowed to put on a show, should this have been the year for us all to have taken the time off and not to have bothered with it all? Is the world ready for us to start donning the make-up and 4” heels as we perform? Or is the very best time to air out our costumes, put on the greasepaint and show the w...

Hello, lovelies.            There is nothing better than being invited to a party. A good party can lift a bad mood. It can be morale building. You can meet your future partner or make that all important network. Parties come in all shapes and sizes. From large lavish formal dos to small intermit affairs. A party brings fun, plenty of food and a modicum of booze. I love a good party, who doesn’t? From the planning to the clear up, parties can go down in history as a make or break event. And over the past two years we’ve learnt to hold online parties, trying our to do our best in these crazy times. And now we can all forward to 2022 and all the good times we are finally able to have. We can all count on the fact that we have followed the rules, even when it was difficult and painful to do so. We held back from celebrating with our friends, family and colleagues through our Christmas and the New Year. And now it is time to let our hair down and celebrate as ...

         Hello, lovelies.                 Is the old saying, It’s a man’s world, really true? Should we listen to our predecessors, and as a woman only expect a life of care giving and always to be standing at the back of the room, never making the big decisions? Is my only true goal in life to take care of my man, no matter who he is and what he does? Or is that an old fairy tale, told to woman through the millennia and it is now time to stand up and be counted. Even if we have been found guilty of the most heinous crimes, all done for the sake of the ‘love of our life’? Should we women get a softer sentence, just because we were ‘just doing as we were told’? Or is it about time that we woman stand up and show the world just how strong and capable we really are? And not be able to hide behind the excuse that we women just didn’t know or understand what was really happening.            I ...