The Rebel Poetess

  As we prepare to wave goodbye(for if there's one thing 2020 has been good for, it's waving) to this batshit crazy year, I thought it fitting to reflect on this topsy-turvy period of time.  Weirdly enough, it hasn't personally been too bad as a whole. January started as a pretty dark time for me personally(for reasons I won't go into)  and February shocked everyone when Caroline Flack took her own life.  Nobody knows what happened between her and her boyfriend but them, so I won't attempt to speculate, but it certainly opened the conversation on trolling and how far the media will go with demonising someone, which in Caroline's case led to tragedy.  After this, the #bekind movement grew momentum and proved how out of the darkest corner, light can emerge. In March as my birthday approached, whisperings of a national lockdown due to Coronavirus began, I have to say I never imagined we would be contemplating a further lockdown(how many is it now) at the end of the...

I first heard of 'break your glass slippers' by Amanda Lovelace on somebody's Instagram page -I seem to get most of my book recommendations from social media these days. I had seen some of her books in Waterstones before including 'the princess saves herself in this one', but had never had the pleasure of reading her work until now. Having loved fairytales ever since I can remember, I along with many others, am guilty of falling for the myth that you grow up, meet the handsome prince/princess and live happily ever after.   The End.   What Amanda Lovelace makes you think about is what if that isn't the end of the narrative?   What if the prince turns out to be saboteur not saviour? Coupled with beautiful illustrations by Janaina Medeiros, the simplicity of 'break your glass slippers' is powerful partly due to the purity of the words.   The old fashioned view that girls should be seen and not heard is shattered.   You don't have to look an...

Ok, this post isn't really about cucumbers.   I just really like alliteration.   I do like eating them though, when I was a kid I used to walk around eating a cucumber as if it were a banana.   What can I say, I was a weird kid. So unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know about the current Coronavirus pandemic and how much the world has changed since my last post.   The UK is on lockdown, death tolls continue to rise, and people have been stockpiling like there's no tomorrow. It strikes me that before all of this happened, the world seemed to be going slightly mad.   People were obsessed with their phones, the news was filled with people bleating about Brexit, and fixated by celebrity news like Megxit.   I truly believe that the world will be changed forever by Covid19.   People's priorities will shift, and the human race will become less selfish as a result. It's strange, in some ways being in lockdown, the world seems to have...

17th March marks another birthday for me.   I always find things like birthdays and anniversaries make you reflect on the past, what's changed since previous celebrations, and what's to come. So with that in mind, I wanted to write about the lessons I've learnt in the last year.   I wouldn't say it's been an overly eventful year but, as always, there have been some changes.   Here goes. Home is a state of mind, not just a place.   I have relocated in the last year, and I think beforehand I imagined as soon as I moved, all of my problems would go away.  Not the case.  And although living somewhere with beautiful scenery can lift the soul, you have to be at peace in your head first, before you can be content anywhere. It's OK to ask for help if you need it.   Having been through some ups and downs over the last few years, I convinced myself that I had to self-isolate as it were.  I assumed people we...

Today I wanted to write about Valentine's Day.   What does it mean to you?   I was talking to somebody yesterday about Valentine's Day and used the example of the first Sex and the City movie.   Carrie and Miranda go out for dinner, and the restaurant is full of heart shaped balloons and glitter.   One of them asks the other 'is Valentine's Day on steroids this year', the other replies that it was the same the previous year, but they were on the other side, playing for the other team as it were. It's a funny old thing Valentine's Day.   It definitely feels different when you are single to when you are in a couple.   When I've been in relationships, I've always done something for it, not necessarily going out, typically I would cook, then exchanging cards and sometimes presents. I've been thinking recently about the notion of the One that Got Away.   I think everybody has one, whether they're coupled up or not.   Someone where you wo...

Book Review -So Lucky, Dawn O'Porter, Harper Collins, 2019 After the rightful success of Dawn O'Porter's novel 'The Cows', I couldn't wait to read her new novel, and was lucky enough to receive it as a gift for Christmas.   The tag line (Don't judge a woman by her cover) was very apt. So Lucky focuses on three central characters.   On the surface, Beth has what many women dream of.   An attentive husband, a beautiful baby, and a successful career, running her own company.   Ruby is ballsy, funny, and doesn't let anyone tell her who's boss.   Lauren has the perfect body, is about to marry her dream man, and has an Instagram feed to showcase every downward dog, flawless selfie, and a fun, easy relationship with her Mother. But scratch beneath the surface, and things are very different.   Beth's husband refuses to touch her, trying to shame her for her pregnancy weight gain, and shunning any expression of desire, telling her she...