tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38165085620928244782024-03-05T11:59:39.490+00:00Ramblings of a Jane Austen Addict...Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-1350629237855792812012-11-04T15:13:00.002+00:002012-11-04T15:19:34.339+00:00She had been a very pretty girl, but her bloom had vanished earlyI think this post may be of mammoth proportions, seeing as I seem to be turning to this blog into a form of self-therapy.<br />
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I've just returned from a week away in the country with my couple friends from home. We were in the peak district, where there was no internet, almost no phone signal and very little to do but enjoy the great outdoors (and the hot tub!).<br />
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Despite my initial reservations of going on a "couples holiday" and being a singleton, I actually had a fantastic time. However, despite everyone's efforts to not make me feel like the odd one out because I'm unmarried and not in a long term relationship, just being surrounded by three couples made me feel more lonely than ever. Even sitting at the table for dinner was awkward, with the insistence that everyone sat opposite their partner... oh wait, I don't have one.<br />
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Shrugging it off, I made the most of my time there but even just seeing the closeness between the couples - helping each other over the styles and through puddles on walks, making each other cups of tea or even just hearing them laughing in bed in the mornings (thankfully that was all I heard). It did make me wish I'd finally meet someone who had a mutual liking for me enough to stick around...<br />
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I did manage to get everyone over to Chatsworth House which I have wanted to visit since seeing it used as Pemberley in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie. We did a 6 mile walk around the grounds and it was so lovely. Sadly I didn't get the chance to actually go into the house (it costs £16.50 for entrance!) but no doubt I'll go back some day.<br />
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After a stressful couple of weeks in London - dramas with housemates, friends and work - I really needed this week away and I definitely enjoyed the mixture of walking, food, drinking and sleeping as well as the company of my good friends who I sadly don't get to see enough of.<br />
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It's left me feeling a little confused though - I've always looked at my friends and wondered how they can be happy. After all, they've never left the town we grew up in, they've pretty much married their first serious boyfriends and their worlds revolve around their teaching jobs and spending every Saturday night eating takeaways in front of the X Factor. They NEVER go out and whenever I suggest it I get shot down pretty quickly.<br />
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But after the past week I could see how content they seem and I thought to myself that if I'd met someone worth staying at home for I could be in the exact same position and would I be unhappy? I'm not sure I would...<br />
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I've always been glad to have got out of the small town, enjoy going out and about and never spending two Saturday nights doing the same thing but it's costly and despite going out, I am still yet to meet anyone I can settle down with when I'm good and ready. My friends are buying houses and talking about having kids in the next few years - will that ever happen for me? At this rate it doesn't seem like it will, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see.Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-77280517626866985022012-09-24T21:15:00.001+01:002012-09-24T21:15:41.393+01:00It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman without possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a man.What is it about winter that makes you feel even more single than ever? I say winter, we're only just in autumn, but this weather has been so horrendous it could easily be November - particularly as I was sitting by a pool at a lovely 27 degrees this time last week!<br />
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In the summer it seems a lot easier to socialise - you go out and drink in the sunshine with friends, enjoy the good weather and don't spend as much time at home as you do any other time of year. I guess it's that "summer holiday" feeling we still remember from school - you just feel more free. The nights are longer so there's more time to make the most of your evening, even if you know you have to be at work at 9 the next morning.<br />
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Winter has the opposite effect - nights are shorter and the cold, miserable weather makes you want to stay wrapped up warm in the safety of your own house. If you're alone, it just drives it home. I know I watch much more TV in the winter - mostly romantic dramas, of course - which, again, really reiterate the fact that I don't my happily ever after and it's a long way off. There's not even a sniff of a Willoughby or Wickham, let alone a Darcy or Wentworth.<br />
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When I got back from my holiday, I thought to myself that it was time for me to focus on myself. I'm not too happy with how I look and my confidence isn't great, so I know I should focus on me for a while. I know I should ignore the dramas of chasing boys and going on dates - which has done nothing for my self-esteem of late. However, I can't help the niggling lonely feeling...<br />
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But I'm just going to focus on all the cliches - "you need to love yourself before someone can love you" and "you'll find someone when you stop looking". They make sense. So with a new resolve I am going to a) eat healthily, b) be more active and c) be happy! The rest will all figure outself out I guess.Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-54606222680265263922012-09-23T18:18:00.002+01:002012-09-23T18:18:25.058+01:00I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book!I don't know if I'd already mentioned I was going, but I went away last week... to the least Jane Austen place in the world - Ibiza. It's not somewhere I've ever particularly wanted to go, being someone who likes to enjoy the culture of different places and really hates dance music, but a group of friends were going and I'm still (relatively) young so I thought, "why not?"<br />
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Yes, I did party quite a lot and had an awesome time with almost no sleep - but I actually got through three books too!<br />
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Firstly, I read Mr Darcy Forever which had caught my eye before I left so I thought I'd give it a go. It's by Victoria Connelly who also wrote A Weekend With Mr Darcy, which I read a few months ago. Each of her stories echoes Austen tales, so whilst A Weekend With Mr Darcy echoed Pride and Prejudice, Mr Darcy Forever was based on Sense & Sensibility - a story of two sisters who are very close but very different. One is reserved and careful, whilst the other is carefree and expresses every emotion she feels.<br />
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I won't give too much of the story away, except to say that at the beginning of the story the sisters go off to stay in Barton Cottage, which was used in the S&S film adaptation and we discover that something happened there which tore the sisters apart. We then follow them separately three years later as they both visit the Jane Austen Festival in Bath and begin to uncover what happened.<br />
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It's clear that Connelly is a huge Austen fan, as is every heroine in her books, so it's very easy for me to relate to them and whilst we all know where the stories are heading, there are still enough twists and turns to keep you interested.<br />
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After that I read The Wedding Girl, which was written by Madeleine Wickham (even keeping it loosely Austen!) - though she's better known as Sophie Kinsella. Sixty pages in I turned to a friend, groaned and said "I love these books but they're so predicatable" but I was very happy to be wrong. The story of Milly begins when she marries a gay, American friend to keep him in the country. Fast forward 10 years, it's four days before her wedding to dream man Simon and Milly has kept her previous marriage a secret from everyone. When someone from her past turns up, it's all threatened to fall apart. I was pleasantly surprised with this one - it was a lot more involved than I expected and definitely worth a read.<br />
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The third book I read was Lazy Ways To Make A Living by Abigail Bosanko. I originally read this a few years ago but coincidentally a friend had brought the book with her and when she finished it and I'd finished my two books I decided to read it again. Lexicographer Rose has a string of disastrous relationships behind her, a number of horrible part-time jobs, a passion for chess and a romantic nature - her favourite book is Jane Eyre and this story has more than a slight resemblance to Bronte's novel. Rose meets Jamie and begins a passionate affair, until - inevitably - it all goes awry. I forgot how much I loved this book, it's a little different to your usual chick-lit and again, not too predictable.<br />
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All in all, I was pretty pleased with my three books and I'm now reading another Victoria Connelly book called The Perfect Hero, which is Persuasion themed. I'll have to let you know how I get on with it!<br />
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Yesterday, I was feeling a little under the weather and spent all day in bed. Most would find this boring, but I watched the recent BBC series of Jane Eyre, followed by Wives and Daughters and finished off with googling my favourite scenes from North & South and Becoming Jane. What a day! I know how to live on the wild side...Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-19386730075414794392012-09-09T19:18:00.000+01:002012-09-09T19:21:49.334+01:00It was a delightful visit—perfect, in being much too short. How gorgeous is this weather? I have been absolutely loving the sunshine this weekend and have definitely made the most of it.<br />
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Yesterday, despite feeling pretty under the weather (due to my alcohol consumption the night before, so give me no sympathy) I headed over to my local common with my housemates and indulged in some idle chit chat and sun-bathing before going to see a good friend of mine who I hadn't seen for two months, despite her not living too far away!<br />
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As per usual, we sat with a few bottles of wine (I don't have a drinking problem, honest), a takeaway and a bit of X Factor followed by a cheesy rom-com (She's All That was on E4 last night!) whilst setting the world to rights and analysing every last detail of any male gossip we may have. As if that wasn't fun enough, we headed over to Primrose Hill to sunbathe and have a picnic today!<br />
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I live in South-West London and have always said I'd never move North, but walking around Primrose Hill made me wish I had the budget to live there, it's so lovely. Also helps that I spotted a few celebs - including DOMINIC COOPER, who those of you who read my blog last weekend will know I love.<br />
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Now I'm back home, sad that the weekend went so quickly and dreading going back to work tomorrow, but I'm off on holiday on Wednesday so I can't really grumble. Unfortunately I was a typical Brit and got sunburnt yesterday, but I'm just going to consider it a base tan for the awesome tan I'll be getting next week anyway!<br />
<br />Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-77425140563531279202012-09-02T12:33:00.003+01:002012-09-02T12:33:57.417+01:00Oh! I am delighted with the book! I should like to spend my whole life in reading it.So book snobs beware, I have a confession to make... I've mentioned before that I'm a bit of a Twilight fan - I'm not a crazy, obsessed Twi-hard or anything, but I genuinely love the books. If you think that's bad then maybe stop reading now because what I'm about to say may shock you further. <br />
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Not only have I read all three Fifty Shades of Grey books, but I really enjoyed them. So much so that I couldn't put them down and traded in sleep for page-turning. I know, I know, they're not the most well-written books and let's face it, the sex scenes do make me roll my eyes. By the third book you want to skip through them, but I just love the Ana/Christian relationship.<br />
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As it originated as Twilight fan fiction, I guess it shouldn't surprise anyone that I enjoyed them. I can't get enough of an all-consuming love affair in a book! It's so romantic and unlike real life that it turns into my little escape. My life is so romance-free that I need to make up for it elsewhere.<br />
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It has set me to thinking though that perhaps I can't trust my literary judgement as much as I thought. I've always loved chick-lit and stories of great romance, but I can usually tell when a book is good and enjoy it. I've always read the old classics, books that have been recommended to me as a great book and enjoyed them and I've always steered clear of the Mills and Boon type novels and turned my nose up at them but if I actually read one would I enjoy it? I hope not, but who knows...<br />
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Also, I gave in and now have a Kindle. I know I swore when they came out that I would never own one and that it was a travesty to swap a beautifully printed book for a digital edition on a screen, but for practicality I'm so glad I own one. Every morning I get on a packed commuter train and barely have room to breathe let alone hold a book, now my Kindle is so small that I can read it anywhere - and that makes me happy! So yes, I may hate myself a little, but at least I can now read.<br />
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I'm in need of a really good book to read now. Does anyone have any good suggestions?Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-52215565234713768352012-09-01T18:03:00.000+01:002012-09-01T18:19:25.453+01:00There will be little rubs and disappointments everywhere, and we are all apt to expect too muchSo I very rarely have a quiet weekend. I usually like to keep busy and find that by the time you've done everything you want to do, kept up with friends and paid visits to family you barely have a moment to yourself. For instance, last week I was busy every night - and was looking forward to a night of just sitting around doing nothing. What a fool.<br />
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Now it's Saturday and not only have I done nothing other than go to work all week, but I now have absolutely no plans for the weekend. OK, so I went to the gym and for a swim this morning (holiday in less than two weeks, beach body panic has well and truly set in) but other than that NOTHING. I'm rarely home on a Friday or Saturday evening, let alone both!<br />
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It seems that everyone is busy this weekend - housemates are away or seeing other friends, other friends are on honeymoon, home for the weekend, spending time with boyfriends or family. I considered going home but even my parents are away this weekend.<br />
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Thus I'm sitting in my house doing nothing but watch TV. However, this has meant that I've watched four episodes of my new favourite TV show, SingDate. General premise is that someone who likes singing virtually duets with people via webcam and chooses who he/she wants to go on a final duet/date with. So cringe-y and fantastic - and we all know how I adore a love story. Even if geographical practicality does seem to go out of the window.<br />
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So now I think my evening will consist of a bottle of sparkling rose wine and a Jane Austen adaptation - I haven't watched one in months! Question is, which one do I watch? My go-to Jane Austen is usually ITV's Persuasion but I'm feeling a little fragile and I'm not sure I can handle Wentworth at the moment without despairing at the sorry state of my own lovelife. I think I might settle for Sense and Sensibility and as I have nothing but time I might even go for the BBC series from a couple of years ago. Dominic Cooper as Willoughby - HELLO!<br />
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So I hope you're all having a truly wonderful weekend, filled with exciting plans. Though, let's face it, I'm still going to thoroughly enjoy my Saturday night with a little help from Jane.Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-35143930000691145512012-08-31T00:10:00.001+01:002012-08-31T00:10:15.652+01:00The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really loveSo... I haven't posted on here for over a year and a half. Which, quite frankly, is shocking behaviour. I had a little browse over my past posts earlier and it reminded me of how much I used to love blogging, and how I very rarely get the chance to write my own opinions and thoughts anymore.<br />
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A lot has changed since December 2010, and yet at the same time it hasn't really. I have now moved into a gorgeous house in a less respectable area with 3 other girls - a good friend from uni, a good friend from home and a friend who moved into the flat in Clapham with me last year. We have a lot of fun... but you know how it is with 4 girls living and socialising together.<br />
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Unsurprisingly I'm still single, however I DID go on not one but two dates last week (they say men are like buses). Sadly date number one was a disaster and whilst date number two (which although was our first official date, could have been considered our third due to previous meetings) seemed to have potential, it has gone downhill since. To the point where there will be no further contact. <br />
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Whilst I'm not devastated that things didn't work out with either of them - besides the self-esteem nosedive of having someone tell you that he doesn't think you're a "match in the long term" - the temporary closeness was nice and you get that little bit of excitement that maybe this time you've met someone, regardless of your actual feelings for them. But onwards and upwards as they say... I guess I'll just have to wait for the next bus.<br />
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Three of my close friends are now married, which hasn't eased the marriage panic in any way (though I do love a wedding!). And again, whilst I don't want to be getting married any time soon, I kind of thought I'd be on the marriage track by around 28 and having kids at around 30, so I need to get a move on. I'm 24 now - say I'm with someone for two years before we get engaged, it then takes a year to plan the wedding, so really I need to meet my future husband by 25, which is only 6 months away. Must not start hyperventilating again...<br />
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Life doesn't follow a plan though, which I need to remember. I just need to wait for the right man to come along. However, I do not want to be leading the same lifestyle of going out with my friends every weekend and then lying hungover on the sofa with pizza and trashy TV the next day when I reach 30.<br />
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I don't want to wind up a spinster - or a Charlotte Lucas who marries just to not end up one. If anything I hope I'm an Anne Elliot who despite reaching the grand old age of 27 finally married the man of her dreams. My aunt recently passed away, and whilst she was leading a perfectly happy life and was loved by everyone, she never married or found someone to share her life with, which is sad. I just hope I don't share the same fate. I remain ever hopeful though and at 24 I don't think I need to call on Mr Collins just yet...Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-34907157644726894202010-12-30T11:37:00.005+00:002010-12-30T12:03:24.084+00:00"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort..."Isn't it strange how just going back to a place can bring back all the old feelings you used to have?<br /><br />Despite having moved away and shrugging off all the worries I had before - about being single and being left behind - the moment I stepped foot back in my old town, it all came flooding back.<br /><br />Having been gone for 2 months it seems that not a whole lot has changed, no suprises there then. Except that now even more people have partnered up, including someone I've been carrying a little torch for, even though it was obvious it was never going to happen. I'm pretty gutted. I'd like to think I'm like Anne Elliot and that her "we love longest, when all hope is gone" speech is really applicable to me, however it's certainly not love and I think it's more to do with the fact that I don't want to be alone more than anything else.<br /><br />After a few weeks of looking forward to coming home for a few days, I wanted to jump back on a train as soon as I got here. Too soon I think, the old wounds of living here haven't yet healed and I still love London too much for home to compare.<br /><br />Incidentally, a good friend of mine bought me Lauren Henderson's 'Jane Austen's Guide to Dating' for Christmas. Her exact words when I opened it and started gushing about how much I loved it were: "Now I don't know if I should really be encouraging you like this." She knows me too well, but she is the chief of smug couples what with being engaged and ridiculously happy so likes to give me pitying looks when I claim that I'll be bringing someone who is a cross between Darcy, Wentworth and Edward Cullen to the wedding. Honestly though, my world is so much better than the real world sometimes.<br /><br />A few more days though and I can crawl back to the big smoke and enjoy my youth, while the boring old couples here get their early nights.Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-9783756173088748282010-12-04T10:05:00.005+00:002010-12-04T10:46:58.895+00:00I find myself... quite content with my situation Lizzy.Well, it's been another 2 months since I last posted (I really need to blog more regularly!) moaning that my life was in pieces etc. and it couldn't be further from the truth now.<br /><br />Quite literally, 2 hours after I posted the last blog I got two phone calls from companies inviting me in for interviews in London. I was so excited and knew that life was finally on the up. Two weeks later I had gotten myself a job and was moving right away. So here I am, in the big city and life is good.<br /><br />I'm living in a nice area, I see my friends all the time and although it's not my dream job (but that could all be changing soon... watch this space), the people I work with are my kind of people. Obviously I'm still a spinster, but who has it all, hey?<br /><br />So that's a little update on where I am at the moment...<br /><br />I have to admit, my reading and general culture intake has gone down a lot since I moved and has been replaced with travelling across London and meeting friends for dinner/drinks, which for the time being I'm seeing as a good thing. I've always wanted to write a book and how could I ever do that without real life experience?<br /><br />I do have to confess to something, and it really pains me to say it after being so adamant about it previously, but I kind of want a Kindle...<br /><br />I know, I know. I've moaned about how it's wrong and that nothing beats a book and I really do still believe that. I would always prefer to be sitting with a book than reading words off a screen so impersonally BUT, practically, it's a lot easier to sit/stand on a packed tube with a small thin electronic device in your hand than a huge great paperback.<br /><br />I don't even bother taking anything to read on the train with me at the moment, which is ridiculous. I love to read and travelling is the perfect time to read. So I'm seriously considering something of the Kindle/iPad variety. I'm thinking iPad as it's use ful for other things too whereas a Kindle is solely for reading. So I may just invest in one in the new year... Deep down I'm still so anti them though. Ah well.Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-89107559229787189352010-10-04T14:48:00.007+01:002010-10-06T20:15:42.609+01:00Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.Why is it that when one part of your life seems just about to be right, the rest falls to pieces? I have been moaning for some time that "nothing ever goes right for me". I know I'm not the only person to have made this dramatic statement, but I genuinely think that.<br /><br />Ever since finishing uni, I have been stuck living with my parents in a village in the middle of nowhere with a serious lack of public transport and due to my inability to pass a driving test, I've been immobile.<br /><br />My love life - well, you all know how shambolic that is - has been non-existent for some time now, despite a brief flirtation that went absolutely nowhere. Jane Austen has ruined me for all mankind and I refuse to settle for someone I don't find attractive (which apparently makes me picky - I disagree!).<br /><br />All of my friends are happily settled and seem to be more like early forties than early twenties. The weekend comes and I'm up for going out but no one else ever is... which leads to me being very lonely and bored and means another night in watching Bridget Jones with Ben & Jerry, the only men who are truly there for me.<br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/ben-jerry-smaller.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 343px; height: 339px;" src="http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/ben-jerry-smaller.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />After university I was unemployed for 4 months before finding a crappy job - but I was glad of the money and I loved the people I worked with, so not so bad. Plus, I have the lovely Cellardoor to keep my creativity alive. So this section of my life has been keeping me going. Working has meant I can buy stuff to make me happy and visit my non-boring friends.<br /><br />So imagine how I felt last month when I got made redundant. Gutted. But I managed to put a positive spin on it. "Great," I thought. "Now I can finally move to London, I have nothing holding me back and I'll find another job in no time!" And that's exactly what I'm doing, I've managed to find myself a poky little room where the rent is pretty cheap and I'm so excited.<br /><br />But almost a month after losing my job, I'm still jobless and with no sign of a job heading my way. I have enough money for one month's rent, but after that I'm screwed. I sit at home refreshing job sites over and over, hoping that the perfect job will crop up. I've applied for almost everything, and considering I now have a year's worth of experience at work, you'd think I'd be able to get another job doing exactly the same thing - but no. It's a low point when you find yourself applying to work in Santa's Grotto at Harrods.<br /><br /><a href="http://0.tqn.com/d/golondon/1/0/G/p/-/-/Harrods-Grotto.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 200px;" src="http://0.tqn.com/d/golondon/1/0/G/p/-/-/Harrods-Grotto.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />But onwards and upwards I say. Despite being pretty low now, my life will be different as soon as I move away. I have some great friends in London who do actually venture outside, I'll be in the middle of everything so looking for jobs should be so much easier or someone even might spot my amazing writing abilities and offer me a great job and most of all, I'll finally not be living with my parents! What more could a girl want?Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-42775500976299775382010-09-29T17:50:00.006+01:002010-09-29T19:19:00.161+01:00There's a spinster in the making and no mistake.I never thought that at my age I would feel like a spinster. But that is exactly what's happened.<br /><br />All of my friends - OK, not all, but an alarming amount of them - are getting engaged, planning their weddings and moving in with their boyfriends. Not only am I not, but I don't even have a boyfriend. I'm terminally single.<br /><br />Now, deep down I know that I am still far too young to get married, and why are so many people rushing anyway? But when you're sitting with your friends who are discussing their colour schemes, how they're having their hair, honeymoon destinations and first dances, it's hard not to get caught up in it.<br /><br /><a href="http://costumes.lovetoknow.com/images/Costumes/e/e0/Bride1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 280px;" src="http://costumes.lovetoknow.com/images/Costumes/e/e0/Bride1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I sit at home and find myself watching Four Weddings, Cherry Gets Married and my new fave Don't Tell The Bride, which 6 months ago I would have flicked straight past, but now it interests me. I sit there and watch it, saying to myself "oh no, my wedding dress isn't going to look like that!" and "oooh no, i wouldn't get married there!"<br /><br />Because, that's right, I've gone mental and "planned" my dream wedding. I know what dress I want, where I want to get married and what time of year, how much it will all cost, my wedding menu, my bridesmaids and their dresses. All I really need now is a groom, and preferably one who's loaded if I actually want to pay for this wedding.<br /><br />Now when my friends talk wedding plans, I interrupt with "ah they're nice, but I'm having organza rather than satin" whilst they smile confusedly at me. They don't understand!<br /><br />The silly thing is that I don't even want to get married yet, I never pictured myself getting married until I was at least 28 and I'd been through the Wickhams and Willoughbys of the world. I think this whole chief bridesmaid thing is getting to me. I'll be glad when my best friend's wedding is over and I can go back to my own normal life... Back to going out whenever I want, drinking as much as I like and not having to worry about anyone else. Bliss!Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-28526096854177640942010-09-22T14:27:00.004+01:002010-09-22T14:36:29.890+01:00Sorry...Well, I haven't posted here for a ridiculously long time now. My bad! My free time is open wide at the moment as I am currently between jobs, as it were. This means I can be better at blogging!<br /><br />Have you seen the new issue of Cellardoor yet? It's definitely my favourite one so far. What do you guys think? <br /><br />I'm off to go and live a little so that I actually have something to write about, but in the meantime have a little browse of the Autumn Emerging Talent Issue...<br /><br /><center><div><object style="width: 420px; height: 297px;"><param name="movie" value="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v1/IssuuViewer.swf?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fcolor%2Flayout.xml&backgroundColor=FFFFFF&showFlipBtn=true&autoFlip=true&autoFlipTime=6000&pageNumber=126&documentId=100917225208-f49b7a8e696242838e7336e593bb79e0&docName=autumnissue&username=Cellardoormagazine&loadingInfoText=Autumn%20Emerging%20Talent%20Issue&et=1285162367367&er=43"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="menu" value="false"><embed src="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v1/IssuuViewer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" menu="false" style="width: 420px; height: 297px;" flashvars="mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fcolor%2Flayout.xml&backgroundColor=FFFFFF&showFlipBtn=true&autoFlip=true&autoFlipTime=6000&pageNumber=126&documentId=100917225208-f49b7a8e696242838e7336e593bb79e0&docName=autumnissue&username=Cellardoormagazine&loadingInfoText=Autumn%20Emerging%20Talent%20Issue&et=1285162367367&er=43"></embed></object></div><br /></center>Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-86258650691430610902010-04-27T19:27:00.004+01:002010-04-27T20:11:18.463+01:00I have equipped myself properly for Bath already, you see...I didn't think I could geek out on Jane Austen anymore - then I spent a weekend in Bath!<br /><br />From the moment I got there (reading Persuasion on the train of course!), I imagined what Bath would have looked like to Jane Austen. Along the way from the train station to my hotel, I saw things that I had read about hundreds of times. From Cheap Street<span style="font-style: italic;"></span> to the Pump Room, I could find references from Northanger Abbey and Persuasion everywhere.<br /><br />I picked up a leaflet for the Jane Austen Centre, and saw that they were doing a Jane Austen walking tour. We got to walk around Bath city centre seeing places that Jane Austen herself lived in the few years that she was in Bath, and where her fictional characters resided and socialised. The Royal Crescent, The Circus and the Assembly Rooms are all so grand and exactly the kinds of places I imagine Anne Elliot and Catherine Morland wandering around.<br /><br />After that we headed to the Jane Austen centre to listen to a little talk, take a look around the exhibition and then indulge in a cream tea in the Regency Tea Room, followed by an open top bus tour around the city.<br /><br />I can honestly say that I have absorbed more knowledge this weekend than I have in a really long time, not only about Jane, but about Bath as a city. I've never really considered myself as someone who is interested in history, but I found it really interesting learning about how Bath grew from a small market town to one of the most fashionable cities.<br /><br />When I wasn't being a geek, I was lying in the sun on the green in front of the Royal Crescent, daydreaming of finding my own Captain Wentworth or Henry Tilney...Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-51787705344876623932010-04-17T09:26:00.003+01:002010-04-17T09:41:42.001+01:00Half agony, half hope...As I'm off to Bath next weekend, to wander the Georgian streets imagining that I'm Anne Elliot, I've decided to read Persuasion for the 100th time.<br /><br />I mentioned Wentworth's (or Wenty as I like to call him) letter to Anne in my last post, so for those of you who haven't read Persuasion, here's the letter:<br /><br /><blockquote>I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in<br /><br />F. W.<br /><br />I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house this evening or never.<br /><br /></blockquote>Isn't it just the most amazing letter? If you haven't read the book - go now! Read!Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-51051109695250544102010-04-15T22:25:00.007+01:002010-04-15T23:59:56.887+01:00Mad, bad and dangerous to know...<span style="font-size:100%;">Yesterday a friend mentioned to me how earlier that day her lecturer had been talking about Byronic heroes, listing some as Rochester, Heathcliff and... Edward Cullen! I've never really given much thought to the Byronic hero, but when she said that, it set me to thinking.<br /><br />More often than I'd ever care to admit, I fall in love with characters in a book. It's the reason I can read the same stories over and over again; why the page that has Captain Wentworth's beautiful letter to Anne Elliot in my copy of Persuasion is so battered and why I'm not ashamed to admit that I've read the Twilight series five times (well, maybe I am a little). There's something about these stories that draws me in time and time again. And yes, I wish I was the heroine and that I could meet someone like the hero, who I would fall madly in love with. But I know I'm not the only one!<br /><br />How many great stories about love are there in the world? Hundreds! How many romantic heroes are there? Thousands! And yet it's the same ones that pop up time and time again.<br /><br />Rochester, Heathcliff, and yes, I am going to agree with my friend's lecturer... Edward Cullen. They are men who have captured the hearts of millions of adoring women, all over the world. And they are all Byronic heroes.<br /><br />According to wikipedia, the definition of a Byronic hero, or an anti-hero, is someone who is "an idealised but flawed character . . . mad, bad and dangerous to know". A Byronic hero shows a mixture of the following characterstics: a strong sense of arrogance, a troubled past, power of seduction and sexual attraction, mysterious, magnetic and charasmatic, self-destructive behaviour and of course, a good heart in the end.<br /><br />All of these men have these traits, and I've finally realised that it is exactly this type of man that suckers women in. If we were ever to meet one of these men in modern day life, we'd consider them a "bad boy" and yet when they're in literature, they're a tortured romantic. So, it's exactly why we DO always go for the bad boy in life and can't understand it. We sigh and say " why can't Dave be like Mr Darcy?" When in fact, if we knew Mr Darcy, we might think he was a bit of a prick.<br /><br />So let's take a look at them...<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Rochester is a favourite of mine. I love that he falls head over heels for plain Jane Eyre. Let's face it, he's a bastard. He has no qualms about committing bigamy and ruining Jane's reputation, but he's forgiven when his crazy wife conveniently burns to death and he goes blind, karma's a bitch hey. Jane takes care of him and they live happily ever after. Byronic hero behaviour? Check.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://austenprose.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/wuthering1w.jpg"><br /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Heathcliff, I have a few issues with. Not only was he an arse, but I'm pretty certain he was more than a little unhinged. Yes, he loved Cathy with all his heart, but I always found him a little extreme. Mind you, Edgar Linton was far too pathetic for my liking. I always wish Heathcliff had just stayed to hear what Cathy really thought about him, but that's just me and my need for people in love to be together. He's the epitome of the Byronic hero.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://planetnora.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/edward-cullen.jpg"><br /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Edward Cullen, not your typical romantic hero due to being undead. I genuinely fell a little bit in love with him when I read Twilight though. I can't understand how anyone could be Team Jacob, but anyway... He has the ultimate bad boy danger, he could quite literally kill the love of his life at any moment. He also has great brooding skills, if a tad too overprotective for my liking. He couldn't be any more of a Byronic hero than if he were Byron himself.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.lizjohnsonbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/captain-wentworth.jpg"><br /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Captain Wentworth, possibly my favourite ever fictional hero. I always think of him as being so sweet and wonderful, but having given it some thought, he is a tad Byronic. He has spent 8 years missing the love of his life, but when he sees her again he flirts with some floozy in front of her, and acts like a bit of an arse. Yet Anne still digs him and they finally get their act together after he tells her how he feels (swoon!).<br /><br />I'd also say the same of Darcy, he has the pride, some obvious issues with the whole Wickham/Georgiana sitch and is constantly rude to Lizzie, but he's possibly the most famous hero in the world. Go figure.<br /><br />No matter how awfully these men have behaved throughout their respective storylines, they are all entangled in some of the greatest love stories ever written, and they are all completely in love with someone who accepts them and loves them back equally. The proof of this love is what shows us that they all have a good heart. Love is their most redeeming quality.<br /><br />So, after a ridiculously long ramble, I have come to the conclusion that I certainly have a type when it comes to reading a book. And now I know what it is.<br /></span>Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-78618367781815183592010-04-11T09:43:00.006+01:002010-09-22T14:16:46.758+01:00It's love, it's not Santa Claus.<div style="text-align: left; font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Last night I finally got to watch </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >(500) Days of Summer</span><span style="font-size:85%;">. Now, I had been waiting to watch it for over a year. I'd first heard about it as I wrote a piece on Zooey Deschanel for my dissertation and saw that she had just made that quirky little film, but when it came out at the cinema, for one reason or another, I never got to see it. So, excitedly, I put it on last night and sat down to watch it.<br /><br />I had been forewarned that I probably wouldn't like the storyline very much - me, the hopeless romantic, watching a film about a relationship that had an expiry date in the title. But I was pleasantly surprised.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x89/edwardbayntun/reviews/500-days-of-summer-review-3.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 300px;" src="http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x89/edwardbayntun/reviews/500-days-of-summer-review-3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />For those of you who haven't seen it, I may possibly ruin it for you so stop reading now if you don't want to know what happens. Tom, who has always believed in destiny and finding your soulmate, meets Summer, who doesn't believe in love at all and states outright that she doesn't want a boyfriend. He then falls head over heels in love with her, and we see their relationship evolve, but also see flashes of it disintegrating as it flickers backwards and forwards through time.<br /><br />After Summer breaks up with him, we then see that she has gone off and gotten herself engaged. Shocking behaviour for someone who didn't even want to be in a relationship, and obviously poor Tom is devastated.<br /><br />Now, I've heard people describe Summer as a bitch in this film, but I have to disagree. I actually quite like the fact that it wasn't a Hollywood cop-out and that she didn't change her mind for Tom, but when she did meet the right person she fell in love and married him. That's real life (or an extreme version of it maybe)!<br /><br />I know so many people (myself included) who have been infatuated with someone, only to have them tell them that they're not looking for a relationship right now. What happens next? A month later these people end up in relationships. It's horrible, but it happens, and sadly it means that you obviously just weren't right for each other. But then you can move on to greater things. You'll find that person who does want to be in a relationship with you.<br /><br />Anyway, that was my take on the film. Tonight I shall be watching something far more sentimental and soppy - The Time Travelers Wife. I cried for about the last half an hour in the cinema when I watched this, but I'm a cryer! Sometimes it's good to stick on a weepie and just go with it.<br /></span></div>Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-41152878641747505802010-04-06T20:48:00.002+01:002010-04-06T21:14:09.385+01:00And here's what I did earlier...<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">This blog is inspired by my column for Cellardoor magazine. Check it out here...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Head to page 44 of the Spring Fling issue...</span><br /></span><embed allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true&documentId=100320184246-0c887a17d89847e789bd73c008d1a1f3&docName=spring_fling_issue&username=Cellardoormagazine&loadingInfoText=Spring%20Fling%20Issue&et=1270583040090&er=20" menu="false" name="flashticker" quality="high" salign="l" scale="noscale" src="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v1/IssuuViewer.swf" style="height: 297px; width: 420px; font-family: georgia;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle"></embed><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Enjoy!! x</span></span>Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816508562092824478.post-69571021115697300002010-04-06T18:17:00.014+01:002010-09-22T14:18:44.347+01:00'He is just what a young man ought to be,' said she, 'sensible, good-humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners!'<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >After sitting and whinging about my love life to anyone who would listen, a friend suggested I turn my Cellardoor column into a blog in order to help vent my frustration and keep busy.<br /><br />Now the way my life is going, I'm certainly no heroine. I'm terminally single and get attached to fictional characters far more than I ever get attached to real people. Until recently that is. After a long vacation from having feelings for anyone, I've finally gotten to know someone I really like.<br /><br />What I had forgotten is just how crazy liking someone makes you. Or maybe it's just me? I find myself going out more in the hopes of seeing him, constantly looking around for him when I'm out and getting paranoid that he's in love with another girl if he so much as looks at her for a second too long. It's exhausting.<br /><br />And then there's the constant "does he like me?" analysis, letting him know that you like him and figuring out what your next move is going to be, all the while spending near enough all day unwillingly thinking about them. Wow, I sound even crazier when I write it down.<br /><br />I'm forever comparing my life to those of Jane's girls, and I'm currently relating to Jane Bennet. She met Mr Bingley and he was sweet and caring - one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, and you can't help but like him - just like the guy I like, who I'll call... Mr E (ha, like mystery!). She plays it cool and a few people think perhaps she's not that into him, but just when she feels comfortable he disappears and she's left heartbroken and wondering what she's done wrong.<br /><br /><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyIePM_sIOEOCIN9tfa135ch6AVSG7rVIh2-rhRcXs1_O3CzFbQVY4uSfHMVC66wJemm0jeY3n9g3SF6lwByhCzZeQtVi-OD1LSW7W_394Izy2YIMj39XtR98LlxfkHyDJ1LANhmm7UuY/s1600-r/pnp-1-l.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 489px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyIePM_sIOEOCIN9tfa135ch6AVSG7rVIh2-rhRcXs1_O3CzFbQVY4uSfHMVC66wJemm0jeY3n9g3SF6lwByhCzZeQtVi-OD1LSW7W_394Izy2YIMj39XtR98LlxfkHyDJ1LANhmm7UuY/s1600-r/pnp-1-l.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></span></span></span></span>Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not heartbroken, just a tad confused. How do I know if Mr E likes me, or just considers me a friend? I mean there's been flirting, a little hand holding and some other "signs" but then there are ignored messages, a lack of contact and another 100 negative things to cancel out the positive. The other day I put myself pretty out there, more than I've done with anyone in a long time, to no avail. And this is a nice guy - the bad guys are 1000 times worse.<br /><br />I always think things were much simpler in the days of Jane Austen, if somebody liked you, they proposed. She even led us to believe that if they really loved you, it wouldn't matter if your family were embarassing and you had no money. It's much more complicated now, and with all these new ways of contacting people, such as Facebook, not only are there more ways of finding out about them (borderline stalking in some cases), but there are more ways of getting ignored. It's great!<br /><br />Wow, I've written a lot for my very first blog post. I should probably stop with the rambling now. I'm not going to lie, I'm probably going to go and put Pride and Prejudice on and watch the scene where Bingley proposes!<br /></span>Jane Austen Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00402794898699800277noreply@blogger.com0