Hello, all! Hope everyone had a great week and that all the mums in North American had a fabulous Mother's Day. It truly irks me to no end that in the UK, we celebrate the day in March, when the weather is at the peak of its yucky greyness. I should start a petition to move the day to May! In all my free time, snort snort.
Well, I'm pleased to report that I'm about one-third of the way through the first draft of The No-Kids Club, my latest novel. I'm really enjoying writing it, and the three points of view are certainly providing lots of opportunity for conflict. My hope that putting more thought into plotting would mean less rewriting hasn't exactly come to fruition, though . . . I seem to have gone off-piste again! Ah, well. That's part of the fun, isn't it? Just remind me of this when I'm struggling with the edits.
Last week, I celebrated my nine-year Londonversary. In May 2004, I packed up my belongings, hopped on a plane, and travelled to London in hopes of finding a job and a new life in one of the world's greatest cities. It was a leap of faith, and one I've never regretted making. Within a week, I'd met Mr TR, who became my guide around town -- and my boyfriend (and then, a few years later, husband). It took a little longer to find a permanent teaching job, but the hellish few months of supply teaching in Central London seemed more like an adventure than torture.
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| The Royal Festival Hall and the London Eye, site of my first date with Mr TR. |
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| The Millennium Bridge to St Paul's. |
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| One of my favourite buildings on my street. |
Now -- several jobs and one baby later -- I can't believe I've been living here for nine years. I can't imagine being anywhere else! I feel a part of this city now; it's wound its way into my life. Heck, I even published a book on it!
So here's to nine incredible years in London . . . and the UK!
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| The Black Mountains in Wales. |
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| With Mr TR, looking down over Broadway in the Cotswolds. |
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| A village in the Cotswolds. |
If you could live anywhere you liked, where would it be?
Happy London-versary. If I had my choice I would live on Vancouver Island - probably in Duncan where there is a temperate climate.
ReplyDeleteHappy nine years! You couldn't have selected a richer, more beautiful area to settle down in, Talli.
ReplyDeleteHappy London-versary! You sound like you've fitted in a huge amount of life experiences in those nine years.
ReplyDeleteOh what a lovely post! The pictures are lovely but more lovely still is the story of you taking a leap of faith. Yay! Hmmm ... where would I live if I could live anywhere? In the house we haven't built yet in Prospect, Nova Scotia! I can't wait to live there though I will have to - for a year and a bit. I do love it in Prospect. I'm almost there - just five minutes away and while this is nice -nothing but nothing beats the view from our property - down over a rolling hill of cranberries and crowberries to the inlet - slight shift of body and then the crashing gorgeous diamond cloaked ocean stirring around the large rocks. ah.
ReplyDeleteAnd London Loves Talli! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an exciting anniversary! Gorgeous pics. I want to live lots of places for a while: Paris, New York, Seattle. I need to get this bestselling novelist thing rolling so I can live wherever I want and just write! Haha. By the way, more plotting never helps reduce my edits either. Oh, well.
ReplyDeleteHappy London-versary! After our year of winter, would travel to somewhere warmer.
ReplyDeleteQuite an anniversary, Talli! Terrific pics!
ReplyDeleteI could enjoy myself for a few months wandering the British isles.
And I'd probably like to have a place near mountains.... something in the Canadian Rockies would be quite welcome. Lots of climbing right at the back door.
ReplyDeleteBora Bora island!!! Yay!!
ReplyDeleteAwwww happy happy happy Londonversary lovely Talli and Mr TR and Baby TR!!! London and the UK are happier and nicer places with you all in it!!
Take care
x
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Talli, although my sister lives in London, I wouldn't want to - too full of people for me. If I was to be in a really big city I guess I would choose Paris or New York. but Auckland is a lovely city - not too big or small, good weather and set between 2 great harbours. Maybe you should do a book based here! Have a good one.
ReplyDeleteCongrats! If you hadn't stepped out on faith though you never would've met Mr TR. I bet that boggles your mind when you really think about it.
ReplyDeleteHappy London-versary! And happy late Mother's day!
ReplyDeleteOver the last few months I've considered picking up and starting somewhere new, but I think I'm a bit too chicken to abandon all my friends and family! London is sort of a default option, and I have a friend in Edinburgh. But the ski-bunny in me cries out for Vancouver. Maybe one day. Your story is certainly inspirational.
ReplyDeleteYay for 9 years! And if it makes you feel any better, we had snow for Mother's Day! I actually had to brush off the car and scrape my windows before heading to work this morning. *sigh* At least, it's almost all gone again!
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SO many things accomplished in nine years, it's amazing! Congrats to you, and here's to many more years in London!
ReplyDeleteIf I could live anywhere, it would probably be Prague... so beautiful!
Hi Talli - London is great isn't it .. I'd have six months here and six months in Africa one year, Australia the next etc ... getting away from that grey.
ReplyDeleteSadly Mothering Sunday is part of the Christian year and I doubt you'll get to change it!
Great to see you both looking out over Broadway .. and then in nine years it's all happened - much happiness ahead ... and wonderful to read how you met.
Cheers and happy ?summer days in London town ... Hilary
Congratulations Talli! I live in Cornwalland love it - though right now looking out at the pouring rain I wouldnt mind a week or two in Greece!
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Happy anniversary! I love London, there's always so much happening at one time.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Talli! Your spirit of adventure was meant to be. I love London and can truly understand why you love living there. It's an amazing city.
ReplyDeleteSuch a fabulous city for an adventure ...congrats on living yours!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd ever be brave enough to pack up and start a new life in another country - I've never even moved to a new town!
ReplyDeleteIf I could live anywhere at all I'd like to have a 'base' in Scotland for just four (summer) months of the year (and although I love the Scottish countryside I think I'd like to be adventurous and have an aprtment in Edinburgh) and I'd like to spend the other 8 months living in lots of different (warmer!)places the world over. That's my dream anyway!
ReplyDeleteHappy London-versary Talli!
Janice xx
What beautiful pictures. I'm so happy for you for going out and finding the dream.
ReplyDeleteTalli: Congratulations on your Anniversary and good fortune! Does Baby TR know about the new book title? :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you made the right choice! Your pictures of England are so beautiful. If I could live anywhere, I'd want to live in New York City. I've never been there, but it's always been my fantasy to live there partly because it seems so different from Chicago (though I do love Chicago). I'd also like to live in Barcelona, because I went there once when I was in college and I loved it, and I can (sort of) speak Spanish.
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What a fantastic, life-changing adventure, Talli! I'm happy living in Scotland, although we loved Canada when we visited.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! :) Those must have been an exciting nine years.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where I'd live, if everywhere was a possibility.
Ooh, purrrty! Want me to sing the Anniversary song to you? Trust me. You do not want that! Thanks for the pics. It's my dream to venture across the pond someday. I'm just gonna need some tranquilizers before I board the plane. It would be so much easier if I could just drive there. I mean, come on. Build a bridge already. People are out of work. Hello. Get a few thousand people on that. Problem solved. If this writing thing doesn't pan out, I'm gonna run for office. ;)
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WOW nine years! That's amazing. Your anniversary just walloped me on the side of the head. I moved to Chicago NINE years ago and my anniversary is a week away. I can't believe it!
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled that your life change worked out! LUCKY YOU! I wish it had for me, but at least my adventure was one that needed to happen for me to grow as a writer and person. No regrets, but it's definitely time for me to MOVE ON to my next life.
Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteShucks, I'd love to move to the UK someday myself! Especially a seaside village in Wales...
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Wow, you've been there NINE years! Amazing. Your photos of it are lovely. :) (Is that building curved?? cool!) Nice to learn more about you and how you met Mr. TR over there. Three POVs in your novel? How industrious. I can barely keep up with one. Congrats on being a third through the draft!
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