Something's gotta give
(and for the moment, it's me!)
About four months ago, I was at an incredibly low ebb. I wasn’t working, I had no money and I was spiralling emotionally and mentally. I had found lockdown really hard and for some reason, that last period of it was even harder than the rest. It was the lowest period of my life.
The great news is - this could not be further from the truth now. In fairly quick succession, I got a great part-time job and two part-time clients that I am doing fascinating and useful work for. My plan to walk 1000 miles this year is completely back on track (which given I spent much of March and April not getting out of bed is great). The play is happening. My wonderful/awful (delete as per reviews) piece of work that I am so proud of having made real is going on the stage in less than a month.
At the moment, to get everything done, I am getting up at 6 and working until Love Island at 9pm. I break this up with walks and chores, but I am BUSY. And as a result, happier than I have been in a long time. Given a choice, I would be this busy all the time.
But I know me. And I need to take a little bit of care of me. I don’t want to burn out and I know that over the next month, the play is going to take a great deal of my time and energy and attention and love and care and I don’t want it any other way.
Having said that I need to do some basic self-care. So I am afraid this newsletter is going to take a few weeks off.
I love writing this and I love how responsive my audience is. Getting emails from people who both agree and disagree interestingly with me is wonderful. But it does take time to write and - apart from the odd coffee - it doesn’t make me any money.
I have no intention of charging for it either. I enjoy the space it gives me to work through a longer argument than I might do in an opinion column and be a bit more nuanced. But who wants to pay for that?
But as a result, I need to take back the hours, just for a while. I need to be a bit selfish to exercise a bit of self-care. So the newsletter is going on a summer holiday. I’ll be back in September when I am fully rested from the play (Do please come and see the play if you can!).
I don’t suspect for a moment this newsletter is well established enough to be properly missed. This isn’t like Paul Waugh quitting the Waugh Zone! But for those of you who have been kind enough to interact and those who enjoy it quietly, thank you so much. I’ll be back, rested and ready to take on whatever the autumn brings.
No Cure for Love
Inspired by the music of Leonard Cohen, this piece examines the truth behind love songs. Can love ever be like that? Would we want it to be? Does love age with us or do we always fall like teenagers?
Join musicians Scott and Rose backstage at the Broadstairs Folk Festival as they try to discover if there is - in fact - a cure for love.
This is a rare show about love, sex and romance between older people. We're jaded, but we still have appetites, hopes, dreams and romantic aspirations. But if we haven't found them yet - are we being realistic about what we want?
I am really proud of this play and the music for it. But put it this way - it’s only an hour long and above a pub. What have you really got to lose?
Buy tickets here.
What I’ve been up to
Work has been keeping me very busy of late so there’s just one link - to a fascinating discussion I was asked to take part in during the Bristol Festival of Ideas on the role of citizens in politics and patriotism.
Questions, comments and arguments are very welcome. Insults will get you summarily blocked on every platform that no longer hosts Donald Trump. I’m at emmaburnell@gmail.com or on Twitter (far too often) at @EmmaBurnell_.
Good luxk with the rest and to olay , thanks for doing this and expressing views , it all adds to understanding , look forward to the comeback 🙂