Let's try this again, shall we?
Second time's the charm...
Hello friends,
In three days, it will have been a year since I set up this mailing list.
Since then, I have sent out only one update. (Oh dear!)
Perhaps it was overly optimistic to try to start a newsletter while in the midst of chemo?
Fortunately, things are looking very different now. So let’s try this again, shall we?
What’s New
I’m starting to surface more of the things I’ve been writing over the last couple of years.
Here’s what’s been added:
A post about reawakening this blog and newsletter
A poem about questions and another about perspective
Two new editions of Odds and Ends from October 2020 and December 2020
A poem written on during tube ride and another about why children in fairytales never have mothers
A poem inspired by tips to cope with the UK cost of living crisis
How I’m Doing
It’s been three weeks since my oophrectomy. I’m so grateful to the wonderful surgeon who did such a great job, and feel very lucky to have had a smooth healing process. (I finally crossed the threshold of being able to lift Rose yesterday, which was a really special moment.) Also, it was World Menopause Day a week ago today, so that feels very timely!
I’ve gone back onto all the other medications that are helping prevent my cancer coming back, which honestly have made me feel… not great. BUT, it’s still better than chemo, so I’ll take it!
Good Art Friends
At the end of the summer, I was lucky enough to see British Youth Music Theatre’s Why The Whales Came (based on the book by Michael Morpugo), written by my all-time, number one, favourite composer Bella Barlow. I just had to take this opportunity to gush about it. Bella and the rest of the creative team (Book & Lyrics Nikki Racklin, Director Simon Kane, Choreographer Phyllida Crowley-Smith) did an absolutely phenomenal job on this show - it brought me to tears. Unfortunately it’s not running anymore, but you can still get a glimpse of the magic (and the music) by checking out the trailer.
Playwright Hannah Khalil is not only supremely talented, but also one of the loveliest people you will ever meet. This winter, she has the incredible distinction of having two of her plays on at the Globe Theatre at the same time: Hakwatis: Women of the Arabian Nights and The Fir Tree. I’m hoping to get along to see them both.
Also on my must-see list is Blues for an Alabama Sky directed by Lynette Linton at the National Theatre. Lynette was clearly destined for big things from the very beginning, and her debut at the National is so very well deserved.
Thanks for being patient until I was ready to come back. And fingers crossed that life allows for a bit more regularity going forwards!
For now,
Alli