The First Northern Post

I am here! You might be forgiven for thinking that I never made it up to Manchester, given my silence over the past month. It is slightly ridiculous to have a blog set up to report your move to the North, only to neglect it entirely once you're out of the confines of the M25. But no longer!

I actually first arrived in Manchester on Friday 19th June, but I stayed around for less that 12 hours, so I hope you'll forgive me for not posting. After that I headed straight down to Devon for a week with friends. We roasted in the sun, shivered in the sea, enjoyed the almost deserted beach and many a glass of pimms, and even went to a dance at a National Trust house (a rock and roll holiday all the way...).

A delightful picture of Chris and me in Devon

The week we got back I had an interview for my teacher training course. I was very nervous. I'd done a lot of preparation, but you can never be sure what will happen on the day so I was very relieved when it was all over, and even more relieved when I heard 3 days later that I had been offered a place! My friend Kirsty had given me a badge saying "Inglish Teecher" before I left London, so now I feel I can wear it with pride.

Last week I spent hours writing film outlines, character profiles and plot summaries. I've been attending an evening screenwriting course since Jan 2008 and the final deadlines for my coursework were coming up. Chris* was required to read draft after draft of my scripts, but he did it all with patience and many good suggestions, and I am happy to say that the last of the work was sent yesterday!

So now I have my first day in Manchester without an interview or a deadline looming. It feels significant, like this is the moment I can start making decisions for the next few months, rather than finishing off work that has been hanging over me since I left London. But what decision to make first? Summer job? Flat for me and Chris? Student Finance Forms (yuck) and reading lists? Maybe just a walk in the sunshine.

I'd better start finding something to fill my days, or I'll be stuck with the problem of having all the time in the world to write on here, but having nothing at all to say!

*along with Kirsty and James - thank you!