Just Emma

     Hello, lovelies.            They say that worse things happen at sea. Someone always has it worse than you. That there are plenty more fish in the sea. No use in crying over spilt milk. That we should always look on the bright side of life, as every cloud has it’s silver lining. But what if all these well-worn sayings haven’t been telling us the whole truth. How can a few concise words help put aside some of life’s hardest days. Is it always at its darkest before the dawn? Yes, it is. I mean, we know that. We only need to look out of a window to see it for ourselves. So how can the famous proverb that dates back to at least 1650, help us today? And what happens when the darkest times in our lives, are actually the easiest? What if the dawn doesn’t bring sunshine and a bright new day, but it shines a spot light on just how hard our lives actually are?          I have always been a glass half full kind of girl. Eve...

Hello, lovelies .           British summer is here. London is sweltering in such an ungodly heat, as clammy individuals try to in maintain some dignity as they melt in temperatures upwards of 35 degrees. Some love the sunshine, shedding their clothes and embracing the heat. Whilst the rest of us shut the windows, draw the curtains, and sit in front of fans as we wait for it all to be over. London wasn’t made for heat. It was built for much colder weather. Our houses are built very close together, and far too few buildings have air con. So, what can we do? How will we survive this? Or will I end up as a melted, sweaty lump by the end of September? Is the heat down to global warming? Will be ever be able to go back to the summer of a decade ago, when, at its hight, the summer would last a few days at most before returning to the usual chill and cloudy skies? Is this our future? To relive the summer of 1976 year after year? And how can we make the best of a very ...

Hello, lovelies. Have you ever woken up one morning, looked at yourself in the mirror, and wondered ‘who the heck am I?’ No? Just me then. Could it be all due to my radically altered appearance and hair loss? Is it because I can no longer do all the things I loved to do? Are the heavy dose medications that I am taking daily the real reason that I no longer feel in charge of my own body? Could it just be down to the fact that I am hurtling towards 50, and I can no longer expect my aging body to do the things it once did? Maybe it’s everything. And maybe it’s none of those. So why doesn’t the inner me match up with my refection? Is it okay to feel like this? Or with our lives zooming by as quickly, is this the downside due to the pressure of always being Instagram glamours? Should I try to hold on the person I once was? Or is this the perfect time to reinvent myself to whatever I want to be? I know that everyone changes as they age. But for some, it is a seamless experience. A few ...

          Hello, my lovelies.                For so many brave and courageous people, today was the London marathon. Those select few dedicate months and months to training, during sunshine and rain, just so they can queue up, attach their unique number, and run through the streets of this great city. Their reasons may vary, and some may not finish, but the outcome is always the same. They can say that they actually did it. No matter what time they ran, or if the managed to cross the finish line or not, the did it. And many raise a small fortune for charity by doing it. But for the rest of us, well, me mostly, the thought of running to the end of the street let alone a full marathon is nothing more than a scene straight out of a horror movie. For others, as they cross the finish line their flushed red smiling faces tell the world how remarkable they are. But for me, I have a small hot flush just trying to bend down to tie ...

        Hello, lovelies.           Today is valentine’s day, the day of love. Love is in the air. The power of love. I will always love you, and a hundred more songs telling us that love is all around. We can feel it in our fingers and even in our toes. Are they correct? Can love really fix anything? Love, love changes everything, doesn’t it. Do we really want to know what love is? If we don’t, could we leave right now, before we fall any deeper? We love our children, our partners, our parents and friends. Surly we don’t need that one day a year that we load up on flowers and chocolates to tell our loved ones how we feel, that should be something we tell them every day. And what of love at first sight? Can that really happen or it just stuff fed to us in mushy romance novels. Can love really move mountains if they’re high enough, or valley’s if they’re low enough or even a river if its deep enough, to help us find our one true love? Is love s...

       Hello, lovelies.           I just love the theatre. It is everything to me. It’s not just an excuse to get all dressed up, pack a goodie bag full of sweets, and head off for an evening of music and laughter. Live theatre can open our hearts, push our thoughts and ideas past our comfort zone and stir us in a way we never thought imaginable. There is something so magical about sitting in a seat that has had thousands of people sit in it before, waiting for the lights to go down, and step forward on a theatrical journey that we have no idea where it will take us. From the classic golden oldies to the ground-breaking new productions. Every evening you could visit a different theatre, playhouse, church hall or room above a pub and see something new. But is it the arts responsibility to teach us anything? Should shows always be pushing the boundaries? Isn’t the entertainment industry a safe place for the tried and tested productions? Or...

       Hello, lovelies.            When we are born, we are given a name of someone else’s choosing. Growing up our clothes are picked out for us. The schools are chosen, even our religion is handed down to us. We strive to make our own way in the world. Some of us rebel, I, myself, was a goth for my later teenage years. We refuse to listen to our parent’s music, never watching the same TV and films that our parents enjoy. What we really want is to take control of our own lives and bodies and grow into the person that we want to be. Well. That’s if we are lucky. But what happens when we think we know ourselves and our bodies, but life changes us, and we no longer can rely on how we used to be. What then? Do we have to learn who we are all over again? Or is that the perfect time to be whomever we want?          From my earliest memory, I have always known what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be an actor. ...