Musings Archives - MissECalwell

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Since I’ve moved to London, it feels like the passing of time just continues to get quicker and quicker. Maybe it’s an age thing or maybe it’s a London thing. Maybe it’s because in media, we’re constantly thinking at least six months in advance therefore often forget to be conscious of the present. Or maybe it’s induced by nostalgic milestones like my impending 10 year high school reunion. Whatever the cause, I’m so utterly shocked that it’s February 2017 already. In just a few short…

27 Things I’ve Learned in 27 Years

Last weekend, I turned 27. And then Donald Trump got elected as the President of the United States. Whilst obviously entirely unrelated, the arrival of both events (and the shadow of Brexit) has had me, like many others across the globe, seriously debating whether or not I know anything about anything after all. It’s also had me truly pondering how I fit into this big old world. Happy birthday to me! In a brief moment of reflection on the Tube (where I do most of my thinking these days) I made…

On Storytelling: Poetry at St Paul’s Cathedral

I’ve been thinking a lot about storytelling these past couple of weeks. Such intense contemplations have most probably been sparked by a period of intense reading (induced by holidays and extended commutes), my day-to-day work and, most recently, a Monday night visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral to listen to some poetry. Firstly, some context: I really do consider myself extremely lucky to have found myself a career which I truly love. As a profession, media often flies under the radar: it’s the industry you don’t…

Today I Voted in the EU Referendum

Now, before you get too excited, I’m not about to get all political – because, quite frankly, I have no patience for agenda pushing. But I will say this: gosh, what a time to be in the UK! In case you haven’t heard, today the UK voted in a referendum to answer the deceptively simple question: Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union? I know, right – it’s big stuff. I made the decision to vote…

That Time When Nick Hornby Signed My Copy of High Fidelity

Who’s read High Fidelity by Nick Hornby? If you haven’t, you need to get on it. It’s absolutely one of my favourite books of all time (not to mention one of the best books to get you feeling a little bit British). But don’t watch the movie once you’re finished (just trust me on this one). I am writing wrote this update as I sat on a London bus, (my favourite, the number 14), completely and utterly starstruck having just met the author. If you haven’t…

Cold, dark and feeling positive: surviving my first London winter

No one can say I wasn’t warned. What seemed like mere moments after the official end of ‘summer’, the sage warnings about how miserable and lonely London becomes post Christmas and New Year’s started flooding in. It’s dark, cold and wet, they said, with no more Christmas parties and no one will want to do anything fun because they will be broke (or should i say ‘skint’) and doing dry January. The list seemed a little bit endless and, quite frankly, a little over dramatic….

Feeling festive with a side of patriotism

I’ve been in a bit of awe this week. It’s been eight months since I packed up and moved – eight months?!? I fully appreciate that I’ll probably look back in a year’s time and will be overwhelmed with the exact same feeling of incredulousness but bear with me whilst I bask in this realisation for a moment. One of the biggest things I’ve noticed about myself since moving abroad (exacerbated by a viewing of The Dressmaker last week) is how it’s made me feel…

Things I have learned (so far) about moving abroad

1. Everyone’s an expert – and has valuable advice to be shared. The more I opened up to people (everyone from acquaintances to the call centre operator at RACV to close friends and work colleagues), the more I realised that everyone has different nuggets of advice to bring to the table. There’s so much to think about when shifting your life around and the helpful advice of others has really ensured that this elephant won’t forget. Since arriving UK, these little bits of information have…

Why London?

My first real memory of London was a little before 6am on Christmas Day in 2011. I remember walking out of the hostel onto the grey streets to find them completely deserted except for a handful of homeless. It was dead quiet, pretty cold and I was a little bit concerned about the lack of people around – it made me uneasy. Why was I wandering the streets so early? To partake in one of Peter Berthoud’s famous Christmas Day walks, of course. We roamed the…