So here we are. The end of an epic year. I am only referring to my own little microcosm, not global affairs such as the T word regarding America or the B word regarding Europe. I honestly cannot be bothered to spend any more time on them. It achieves nothing.
Having shared the Captain’s hell of losing his mother at the beginning of this year through to mid-April, and also hearing of his two old friends who were both his age and were also snatched away by the C-word, having also supported the incredibly busy schedule that followed his work life, it has been a year of mixed emotions.
I have been lucky enough to still have my parents both alive and happily married to each other, a brother who has been through much hell this year, but is stoically forging ahead, so I have no real right to complain. I was in a one-woman show in the early part of the year at Theatre 503, called Safe to Shoot by the brilliant Polly Churchill, which tested my boundaries, but artistically was beneficial to me. I was also in a short film, which was a total joy, which has been accepted to show at many festivals. It is called Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times written and directed by the wonderful Marcus Markou of Double M films. In addition, I have recently had several opportunities that were from film makers and theatre makers who had stumbled across my Spotlight page and invited me to meet them, so I am feeling confident that my page with its show-reel and headshots is doing its job well, seemingly for all mediums, although I should really like to see more television castings.
Having tinkered with my TV sit-com that I have written, I am going to be submitting it to literary agents, alongside additional comedy sketches and a one act play, and see if anyone bites. The literary novel that I am also penning has been coming together, with the mutual aid of an old chum. We are both writing novels, and our skills are very different so that our meetings to criticise constructively are helping us both progress in a far more motivated way than if we were still going it alone. We have both agreed that it is very handy and I recommend a writing chum to all, if they are having a go at it. So I am at the stage now where I am editing and re-writing, creating much more structure and meaning, and we shall see. I have been working on it for an awfully long time, and I almost do not care if it never gets finished, just as long as I can keep working on it. I mean, what on earth will I do when it is finished? The chum has helped me see what the story might actually be about, and what genre it is. It’s a psychological thriller, in case you wanted to know.
This year, to celebrate bringing in the 2018, a core group of neighbours were invited to the new neighbour’s house. The Captain and I lined the stomachs with Spaghetti Carbonara, which the former has always cooked to perfection, and then wandered round the corner to the new neighbours’ large Chiswick house, in which we drank Champagne, drank Expresso Martinis, played darts and watched the fireworks as midnight struck. It was one of the sweetest parties that we have attended in a long time and I believe it is boding well for what is lined up for me this year.
I was lucky enough to visit Prague for my birthday this December where the Captain was filming a new series for Amazon. I was presented with a beautifully designed huge aqua-marine and diamond ring, made by the Captain’s close friend, who will be known in this blog as The Jeweller. So having gone to Paris the month before, I did feel like a very spoilt lucky wife. The lead up to Christmas is always fun, but the actual day was difficult for the Captain due to it being his first one without his mother. We had been obliged to attend a wedding in Yorkshire on the 22nd, so we only managed to get back home by the evening of the 23rd, had a few quiet days including a charming local pub drink with our neighbours, boxing day involved travelling to Warwickshire to the Jeweller’s family for a clay pigeon shoot which was fun, but I am untalented with my aim, sadly. The 29th was presents and Christmas with my parents and brother, which was low-key and by then, everyone seemed to have caught the lurgy that had been around for the last two weeks.
Meanwhile, we have a visiting mouse, who has now avoided all traps and the pest control man, Matthew Mouse-Man, has assured us that there is currently only one, but he is not touching any of the traps laid out for him. He seems very casual in his stance, ambling past us to his favourite nook under the cupboard on most nights, to the point that I was sure he did the V sign to us the other night. Or was he lighting a cigarette? Either way, he has got to go. So I am thinking that when we have won this war, and it is a war, I may get a cat or a small yappetty dog who likes killing mice.
So, what does 2018 hold for me then? Well, if I get an advert, (dagnabbit, I MUST, I MUST) I am going to spend at least half of that dosh on a hot holiday during these dreary winter months. I also plan to visit my mate in Rome, (if she is reading this, this is the first she hears of it, so I hope she likes the news). I also plan to get loads of acting work, in particular on TELEVISION, so do send out great vibes for me on that one. Hot middle aged woman who is great at comedy. Yes, I know, self plugging. Disgusting habit. Too bad. If you don’t like it, nobody is forcing you to read it. So there. I also plan to buy some more thermals from M & S. Yes, that’s the exciting life I lead. And some clothes and toiletries, of course. I want to go to more galleries. Incidentally I watched a brilliant documentary on David Hockney on Sky Arts, which has inspired me to do more painting. So there it is, success, love, money and holidays await me. Just you wait. What’s your 2018 got in store?
Kate Terence's Letters from London 