A Walk in the Rain

A leaf crunched. The girl, too scared to move, to run, to escape, simply stood frozen by her fear. Another leaf crunched. She whispered hoping to reassure herself “There’s nothing there. There’s nothing there.” However, her words could not comfort her mind. Another leaf crunched only louder this time, closer. Her heat racing and breathing heavily she closed her eyes. Another leaf crunched. This time too close to bear. Before her feet could refuse she took off. She ran desperately with one thought in her mind: to escape. Finding it increasingly difficult to breathe the girl stopped cowering behind a tree. After several moments passed and her breath had returned she sighed as relief washed over her. She screamed as a cold hand clamped down over her mouth. Salty tears fled from her wide eyes. The man forcibly flung the girl around to face him. As she felt the cool metal against her neck her eyes shot open to see the horrific smirk on his shadowed face. Realising her fate she squirmed desperately as he leant forward whispering in her ear: “not today sweetie.” Suddenly she was alone. Fearing that he would return she almost failed to notice the intense pain that seared through her body. Her hand shakily reached up towards her right shoulder. Warmth embraced her fingers. Blood oozed slowly but heavily as her body collapsed against the tree. As she lay there covered in her blood and tears, the lights came on and Jenny headed towards make up to be cleaned up.

Only after locking the door to the makeup room and turning left into the shadowed corridor was Jenny finally free from her stressful day at work. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her job; she had always dreamed of being a professional actor and was very appreciative of her luck. Jenny simply found that the world of show business was not as glamorous or as simple as she had imagined. It had taken her years to even get the opportunity to work in a television studio and she couldn’t believe her luck when the lead actress, who just happened to be her size, had had a mysterious accident. She was so distracted by her thoughts that they were severed unexpectedly after colliding with the awkward video editor Kenny. Shuffling nervously he lowered his head apologetically and murmured a stuttered sequence of explanation. Attempting to reassure his anxious disposition, she insisted it was no problem. She always had a soft spot for Kenny. Others felt repulsed by his awkward personality and nervous behaviour, but Jenny almost felt sorry for the wiry man who wore his ‘green lantern’ t-shirt just a little too often. Without saying another word Kenny disappeared and Jenny was alone.

The cold breeze hit Jenny unexpectedly as she stepped out onto the busy street although it didn’t bother her as the studio had been stuffy and almost unbearable all day. Passing the tube station, the street gradually emptied as business men, tourists and shoppers congregated inwards like bees into a hive. Jenny often chose to walk home as she lived only a 20 minute walk away and honestly found the journey enjoyable. Most days her friend joined her and they would discuss their day at work or gossip about their co-workers but, as she did once a month, tonight she had left town to visit her sister. Although she enjoyed her friend’s company, Jenny had learned to appreciate the alone time to think about her week. Her thinking time was cut short as a tiny tear fell from the clouds and landed on Jenny’s cheek with a gentle plop. Soon her face had welcomed many more. She was not disheartened by the memory of her umbrella sat at home as she enjoyed the way the rain caressed her long silky hair. Her thoughts turned, as they often did, to her father. Rain always had that effect on her. She had been very close to her father as her mother had left them at a young age and the rain reminded her of her childhood. Memories of the little girl dancing and splashing in the rain with her father flooded her mind. ‘You can stay inside and growl at the rain or you can go outside and dance in it’ he had told her. From that day she had always found being in the rain liberating and had developed a love for the typical British weather.

As she wandered down the now quiet pavement she couldn’t help but feel replenished as the rain developed into a savage downpour, fully soaking her dainty dress. Glancing down, she watched the way in which the raindrops danced like graceful fairies on the pavement. The street she wandered wistfully down was mostly empty now as people had fled suddenly as the shower became a nuisance to their busy day. She passed a bus stop filled with cowardly pedestrians as they watched, waiting for the outbreak to cease like a mouse peeking to avoid a cat. Following her usual route, Jenny turned down a shadowed lane decorated with beautiful views of the nearby forest which she always thought displayed its true beauty at night. Her phone’s screen sharply lit up, drawing attention to the girl in her dark surroundings. The message from her fiancé had alarmed her at first but it comforted her to know he was thinking of her. Her mind drifted to home and her fiancé of 7 months. They had met at an April wedding and although he had thought her crazy for choosing to stand outside in the rain that day, while others cowardly flocked towards the shelter, it had interested him and was one of the many things he learned to love about her.

As Jenny’s journey was shortening she stopped to take in her favourite view. The forest slept beautifully and looked especially pristine as its evening shower cleansed the natural body of its plant life. She truly loved the way the rain seemed to redecorate everything and showed the world in a whole new light. Appreciating her lovely day she sighed peacefully as she turned to continue the last leg.

Quietly, a leaf crunched.

Autumn

So Autumn has started. And people have started complaining. And I have started complaining about people complaining. I just don't understand.

About a week ago I had a moment of absolute beauty. While walking through the park on my way home from college, I was blessed by the scene of falling leaves. Not just like a couple here and there, literally a rain shower of leaves. And it was beautiful. It was here that I realised that Autumn was here and, boy, did it make me smile. Not just because of the beauty but also because of the realisation that Winter was on the way.

I love Autumn for so so many reasons and in case you are one of those complainers, here are the reasons why.

Leaves
Sure it sucks having mushy leaves after rainy days, but isn't it just magnificent walking on crispy leaves after a cold morning? I sure think so. And the colours, oh the colours. You may not feel the same way, but nature creates some beautifully coloured leaves at this time of year.

Fashion
I really am not a fashionista. Literally, I hate shopping and shiz (not your typical girl). But I can't deny the great Autumn fashion. Just simple things like being able to wear my boots and fluffy socks every day and being able to wear my hugely fluffy jacket without overheating. Clearly jumpers are a winner too. Also, not gonna lie, when people start to break out the gloves and scarves I do get a tid bit excited.

Halloween
Ok, this may be a little less of a reason because I seriously do not celebrate Halloween any more but I have wonderful memories of it as a child (and yes I do think it is only acceptable to celebrate it when you are a child/have children). And I do still enjoy getting trick-or-treaters knocking on my door, maybe because we live in a fairly OAP-populated area but I do still get a little excited when the doorbell rings. Unless they aren't dressed up. That sucks. And they do not deserve any sweets.

Christmas
IT'S NEARLY CHRISTMAS!!!!! I completely understand if you don't get excited about Christmas, but I do find that sad. It is quite literally the most wonderful time of the year.

Heat
You do not know how fucking relieved I am to no longer be fighting against the heat of summer. I have an intense hate relationship with summer because of this. I really am a winter person. I just have the attitude that you can make youself warmer manually but you really can't cool yourself down easily. Most people really don't understand and if you are one who is happy when summer arrives then you won't understand.

Blankets
Blankets. Blankets. Blankets. If you don't love wrapping yourself up in a blanket/throw on a cold night then you are wrong. Simple.

TV Seasons
In general, Autumn is the season of returning TV shows. And that makes me very happy (as I am sure it would for many of you). Not only, do we get brand new American shows but we get the surprisingly happy return of X Factor and Strictly. Completely understand if you have a life and don't watch these. But for us unsociable Britains, the return of the crappy commercialising television makes our Saturday nights just a little bit better.

School
For many, returning to school is a blessing, whether you are a busy mum or a socialite. I however, don't quite agree with these reasons but I am very thankful for the more relaxed part of the academic year as I much prefer learning than exams.

Show
This is highly unlikely to apply to many of you, but for me and my family, Autumn is the start of rehearsals for our Winter show. It can be stressful but if performing is what you love, it is a positive.

Roast Dinners
To be honest, I think this only applies to the British. Roast dinners are important to us and, you may not do this, but during the summer we tend to stop going to the efforts of cooking a big roast dinner when nobody really feels like it and it is lovely when we feel the natural need for a glorious roast on a Sunday afternoon.

Fireworks
I bloody love fireworks. If you don't that's fine but I sure enjoy watching our local fireworks display on Nov 5th.

No Wasps
Probably not the expected reason for this but I am so relieved when the wasp season is over purely because it pisses me off when people get unreasonably scared of them. I can not express how happy I am to be able to open a window or stand outside without someone stupidly freaking out over the flippin thing.

Nights In
Last but not least, I bloody love having an excuse for staying in on a cold wintry evening.

So there you have it. A list of reasons to think twice before complaining about the end of summer.

Favourite Musicals

During my time on this planet I have developed a passion for musical theatre and have so far seen a total of 14 different west end productions. It probably doesn't sound like many but I consider it quite an achievement considering this time was as short as 16 years (and shorter if you consider the fact that I saw my first when I was 11). If you haven't had the pleasure of experiencing one of these beautiful musical creations then I would strongly advise you do so immediately for, in my opinion, there is no other experience quite as amazing. Of course I have seen many, many amateur productions but they really aren't anything like the real deal and in my eyes don't count. As I am going to see CATS shortly, making my total 15, I decided to talk about my top 5 musicals.

5. Hairspray


Hairspray is my favourite movie musical and after seeing it on stage it absolutely became one of my favourite stage musicals too. The combination of the wonderfully 60's music and well choreographed numbers, this show is almost guaranteed to be a hit with anybody. It is just so loveable with the quirky characters and overall just wonderfully wonderful. I would most definitely recommend to everyone and if you haven't yet seen the movie either, you have a problem which must be solved asap.

4. Spamalot


Being the only utterly hilarious musical I have seen, this just had to make the list. I cannot even begin to explain how funny this beautifully British musical is. I just really can't. You must see it. The musical is just so nonsensically brilliant.

3. Ghost


This one made the list with the outstanding special effects. Just truly unbelievable. Also, this was simply the best movie to musical adaptation which really leaves no chance of preferring one over the other. They are just both so different - in a good way, of course. Best bit has to be the subway scene. Honestly, the special effects of the tube and the ghosts make this scene unbelievably amazing. This is an absolute must-see.

2. Wicked


Wicked was the first West End musical I ever saw and truly mesmerized me. So much so that I saw it again less than 2 months after. The creative story of the events before and slightly overlapping the much loved Wizard of Oz has become one of the most popular since it was released in the UK. If you are one of the lucky ones who have seen this, you will be aware of the many beautiful musical numbers including the emotional For Good and the wonderfully absurd One Short Day. They are just truly amazing, aren't they? Well, if you aren't one of these people, you must - MUST - see it. You will not regret it.

1. We Will Rock You

So this utterly fantastic show was my second experience and not only did it make me drag my family to see it again, but it also swooped in and stole first place in my favourites. This one is more than often not a favourite at all and I seriously don't know why. Sure, if you aren't really a Queen fan then I understand why you might not love it but I find it hard to believe that you couldn't enjoy it at all. As you may or may not know, this is another of those musicals intertwining many hits of a famous band - in this case British band, Queen. But please do not let this put you off. The story is loose but created impressively in a sci-fi futuristic manner, where Rock music is not only unheard of but forbidden and the storyline follows a group of bohemians struggling to restore the world into one of free expression through music. If you are a fan of Queen music then I would most definitely advise it and even if you are not, I would certainly suggest it.

New Beginnings

Do you remember writing your first blog post? It's bloody difficult, isn't it? Well, I'm certainly finding it difficult. I tried many websites with advice on what to write and I finally came to a conclusion. I'm thinking about it too much. I realised I just have to write and stop flipping over thinking everything. Well, lets start with me. I'm Emily and that is probably all you need to know for now. I'm a bit of an odd one. I'm into many different things and that is why it was so hard to pick a topic to write my blog about.

Here's the problem: I still don't know what I want to write about. I just know I want to write. But that shouldn't be a reason to give up on me. I will find what I want to write about, it just might take a little time. So bare with me and we will find it together. For now I will hope to entertain you with several topics from my funny little life such as movies, college and theatre. My writing may not be perfect but I hope it will be worth while reading.

To be completely honest, I've been here before and it didn't work out quite as I had hoped. I used to write about things going on in my life but they were written so so badly I decided to start anew. My writing was sloppy and I gave up but I return after much practice and determination.

So here we go. Here is to new beginnings.