nicolette kaponis

Before I begin this week’s post, can I take a minute to say that I just picked up my tickets for ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ BECAUSE PART ONE IS TONIGHT!!! In fact, I could very well be at the theatre when you read this post. I.Can’t.Even. Ahem. Right, now back to this week’s decidedly more royal post. There is a lot to love about Britain’s traditions. I love almost all of them, which should be an unsurprising fact considering I’m currently living, for the second time, in the UK. And you can’t talk about the traditions of Britain without mentioning the Royal Family. Australia has a complicated relationship with Britain and its Queen. Britain itself has a complicated relationship with its Queen (a hint of which is portrayed so, so brilliantly in the film ‘The Queen’ which I could watch on repeat forever.). As for me, my relationship is much more straightforward. I’m not a monarchist (I believe Australia should 100% be a republic), but I freakin’ LOVE the royals....

It’s the little things. They’re the parts of life that can offer the greatest moments of joy or send you into the darkest depths of despair. This is true never more so than when you’re trying to create a new life away from the comfort, security and familiarity of home. The first time I moved to the UK was ten years ago. I was in my mid-twenties (read: actual mid-twenties) and I was lucky enough to have arrived with a job and friends to stay with until I got my own place sorted. Nevertheless, I still experienced some sharp learning curves and long, dark moments of doubt about the choices I’d made. Thankfully, I came out the other side a better, more learned, more experienced person who could often be heard remarking how living in the UK for two years was one of the best things I’d ever done. On my second move to the UK, which entered its one-month anniversary this past Sunday (hence the reflective tone of this post), I expected things to be very different. I was at a different ...

Dear Richard, I get it. You’re an actor. Keeping fit is a priority. But for the love of god man, maybe think about using the gym instead of running outside, in nature, where bad things can happen LIKE YOU HURTING YOUR ANKLE AND NOT BEING ABLE TO FINISH YOUR RUN AS ROMEO! Ahem, anyway, just wanted to put that out there. From, A Fan The London theatre scene is a treat. Not only are performances plentiful, but more often than not, you have the option of seeing a film and/or television star on stage. Now, I like to think that for me, the play or musical is the main reason I book tickets for anything I see. If I’m being honest though (and what is the point of a blog if not for honest thoughts), Kenneth Branagh’s theatre company production of Romeo and Juliet caught my eye because of the stars in this poster. I mean to say...whoa! I mean, even if you weren’t a fan of Lily James and Richard Madden, you’d book tickets for this production immediately, right? And so I di...

The English countryside is beautiful. This is a fact I’ve known for a while and not just because I’ve seen every Jane Austen adaptation ever. I know it because I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it from the window of a train. I’ve seen it from the window of a bus. I’ve even seen it from the window of a plane. But it wasn’t until the first Saturday after I arrived in London that I got to see the English countryside without the barrier of a piece of glass. I got to see it, by walking in it. The English countryside as seen NOT through a piece of glass

What. The actual. F*cking. F*ck.  They…they voted to leave the EU?    But why would they do that? WHY? What about all my planning? What about this amazing new life I was supposed to be starting? Is it all over already?! I see rebranding in this cafe's future   But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go back to when my idea of moving to London was unblemished by a referendum vote and the words ‘I’ve made a huge mistake’ weren’t playing on a constant loop inside my brain. Because actually, once you’ve decided to change your life ( with or without the aid of young wizards ) everything else falls into place with such ease, you tend to wonder why you didn’t change your life sooner. Yes the planning itself was easy. The emotional cost of some of the life-changing steps, though, was high, like handing in my notice for the job I thought I'd still have well into my eighties. And not because the company had me c...