Why, hello, darlings! I'm
BAAAACK!
We have
so much catching up to do! What an eye-opening hiatus it has been. Between the May Balls, getting a Masters, meeting old Antipodean friends for a whirl at the Ritz and the London Eye, and last-minute trips to Tuscany [phew!], I had to make some spur-of-the-moment decisions that determined the course of my life for the next year - and after I thought everything was settled, more doors of opportunities have opened for me to agonise over! The choices I've made - and will have to make over the next few days - are challenging plenty of the hopes and dreams I've held dear and raised some rather big, indigestible questions. Questions about money, about easy options, about whether you should give up a dream job or the dream of being with someone you love, about whether what you do is integral to, or even the same as, who you are [more on that later!].
In the midst of my wrestling match with all of these questions, somewhere between May Week and getting my MPhil approval letter, I had a mini meltdown and behaved abominably. At first, I blamed it on too much tequila [ugh!] and the bad behaviour of others. But then it slowly dawned on me that something had gone amiss. Somewhere over the last few months, I had lost my cheerful faith in a fabulous, dazzling future. I had been bogged down in bitching and complaining about the small things [and equally small people!] which bothered me, rather than buoying myself up with my blessings and best friends.
And that is just
NOT the Sparkles & Crumbs spirit!
In short, in my brief spell away, I had dusted away the cobwebs, had a big old attitude spring-clean, and reconnected with what Sparkles & Crumbs stands for:-
The Sparkles & Crumbs Manifesto
Living a champagne life - on a lemonade budget, if necessary!
Boundless enthusiasm and a belief that blue skies are coming!
Joy and delight in little luxuries - a beautiful dress, a champagne cocktail, scones with raspberry jam for breakfast!
A certain sparkle in the eye that promises wit, warmth and mischief.
Making magic out of sad things and a handful of dreams.
True love and high adventure, always.
“She saw herself, in the distant years, still in the attitude of a woman who had her life to live… Deep in her soul - deeper than any appetite for renunciation - was the sense that life would be her business for a long time to come.”
-Henry James
And now we all know where we stand, welcome back - to a whirlwind review of my last few weeks! It all began with the magic of May Week. For those of you who haven't experienced the wonderful, one-of-a-kind whirl of studying at Cambridge, May Week is a week in June [typical Cantabian contrariness and eccentricity!] when everyone's exams are finally done and dusted, and each college throws a totally, obscenely over-the-top, deliciously decadent, glittering, glamorous gala. All you can eat, drink and dance until dawn - with plenty of extras thrown in!
So, here it is, sweethearts - the Sparkles & Crumbs May Week Diary!
Monday night: St Catharine's 'Metropolis'-themed June Event!
A fun and fancy-free evening, full of old friends! I donned my blue chiffon Twin Set dress for "a tale of two cities," flitting between the "high" - luxurious panelled rooms of cheese boards, wine and harp players, and lawns full of croquet and cupcakes...
...and the "low," boasting burger vans, break dancers, photo booths, dance mats and plenty of shots!
Highlights were the headliner Various Cruelties [I
love this song!],
and the unfailingly fabulous Truly Medley Deeply - there's no better feeling than dancing and screaming madly along with all of your crew...!
But my absolute
favourite entertainment of the night was
Rockaoke - like karaoke, but instead of a video and poor-quality backing track, you sing a tune of your choice with a
live rock band backing you!
AMAZING! The Boy and I performed a rendition of The Strokes'
Last Night - well, The Boy is a bit of a rock star, and I just bopped merrily around! So much fun!
Tuesday night: Christ's 'La Cicade Maravilhosa' May Ball
Now, photos simply
can't do the all-out amazingness of this night justice - and I was too distracted by the chocolate truffle tasting, the
chocolate fountain [!!!],
the massages, the henna artists, the helter skelter...
...the coconut shy, the bungee run...
...the
Thorntons ice cream stall, the fajitas, and - of course -
Truly Medley Deeply!
I queued up with some of my favourite boys in my new Miss Selfridge black and pink tutu dress...
...to be greeted by a champagne reception and Rio-style metal drum band....
...And I am proud to say that, at 5.50 am, we were
still drinking champagne and dancing the dawn away in the DJ tent until we were unceremoniously bundled out for the finish! Oh, what a night!
Wednesday night: Trinity Hall's 'Four Elements' June Event
Trinity Hall is always one of my May Week highlights - unfailingly affordable, aesthetically amazingly pulled off, and the food and drink flows until the bittersweet end! What more could you want?
One of my favourite girls and I got all dolled up...
...and joined our beloved boys for a night of fun, frolics and the Four Elements! The decorations were amazing. The 'Fire' court was filled with fire-eaters and a salsa band; the 'Water' room was covered from ceiling to floor in shimming strips of silver paper and bathed in dreamy blue light, with a fountain at the centre; the 'Air' area entrance was flanked by white balloons and performers blowing giant bubbles, and contained oxygen bars and a silent disco shrouded in white marquees... and the Earth courtyard boasted buckets of Jaeger Bombs and Alice in Wonderland-style shishas!
So we danced the night away under starry canopies, to the crazy-haired King Charles and jazz funk...
...Did our best impressions of the Caterpillar [not quite sure what I am doing here!!]...
...Feasted on chocolate-covered bananas [mmm!] and cupcakes...
...and took part in some good old-fashioned funfair-style attractions!
[Love the boys proudly clutching their prizes from the Test Your Weight mallet game!]
And the fun and frolics didn't end with May Week! I attended fabulously themed graduate formals [unlimited free champagne and English Tea-themed decor, with bunting, sweeties, and strawberry cider!]...
...Watched some of the people I am most proud of in the world finally get their degrees...
...And held a belated birthday Murder Mystery dinner! The theme? 'Death by Chocolate!' Everybody dressed up and got in character - I was a "never knowingly understated" romantic novelist [it's like the part was written for me!] and The Boy made an amazing four-course dinner.
Then, before I had time to catch my breath, my favourite, beautiful miss flew in all the way from Melbourne on a whirlwind European tour - and I was able to take her on a glorious, sunny day around London, sharing all of my favourite things to do! First, we walked right out of Waterloo into the most marvellous marketplace you've ever seen. Slices of the freshest bruschetta I've ever bitten into, glasses of sparkling wine, gigantic platters of paella, meticulously crafted macaroons, the most heavenly light slices of sponge cake... It was a foodie like me's dream!
We strolled through the sunshine through Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly...
We tried on the most fabulous millinery in Fortnum and Mason's, then treated ourselves to my favourite indulgence of all time: a champagne cocktail at the Ritz Rivoli bar, flecked with 24 carat gold!
We browsed the clothes at Carnaby Street, and even befriended a kind and talented jelly bean artist in his pop-up gallery!
Finally, we took a spin on the London Eye - on top of the world, in the golden sunlight, with a dear old friend... what a perfect way to end a perfect day!
And the good times just kept rolling! I'd managed to secure a week's holiday before I started my 9-5 slog, so mia madre e mio padre flew me out to a stunning spa hotel in Tuscany, e.g. HEAVEN! In the midst of the most miserable summer England has seen since 1912 [ugh!], it was a miracle to bake in the sun under cloudless blue skies, sipping a mojito, and taking occasional dips in the heated pool [it was like a big open-air bath!]
And I fell in love with the local town, Lucca - in fact, I want to live there!
My six days of sunshine have made me more determined than ever to get away from this rainy isle eventually, and live somewhere where I can walk out of my door into sweltering sunshine every morning!
Until then, I am working in the less than clement climes of Cambridge - cycling to work through the wind and the rain to a little garret office in the spires of one of the wealthier colleges, and searching for a flat for The Boy and I for the year ahead. But you know what? I am making money [roll on, pay day - the last few weeks have quite literally ruined me!], my colleagues are cheerful and chatty, I meet up with my mateys after work, and I am looking forward to the coming months - whatever they may bring!
And I hope you are too, sweethearts.
I am bursting with all of the unwritten posts I've imagined up in our time apart - I can't wait to share them with you soon!
It's good to be back - how I've missed you, my friends.
"For thou art with me, here, upon the banks
Of this fair river; thou, my dearest Friend,
My dear, dear Friend, and in thy voice I catch
The language of my former heart, and read
My former pleasures in the shooting lights
Of thy wild eyes. Oh! yet a little while
May I behold in thee what I was once,
My dear, dear Sister!
...Neither evil tongues,
Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men,
Nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all
The dreary intercourse of daily life,
Shall e'er prevail against us, or disturb
Our chearful faith that all which we behold
Is full of blessings."
-Still living by Wordsworth's words, after all this time.
Love, camellias and cava xxx
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