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Monday 27 September 2010

Blog Crawl: My Life Is An Open Book


Already there have been some inspiring, amusing and touching takes on Beth's Blog Crawl (see the week one recap, here) so it's with both excitement and a touch of nerves that I write my entry. On Friday Jeanine from AphroChic shared tales of her adventures across America and tomorrow Amanda Lee will post her take on The Crawl.  Looking back my tale feels quite poignant but at the time it was something I felt embarrassed about. Heck, sometimes I guess I still do. Anyway, here goes...


I was fortunate enough to grow up in charming village deep within the English countryside. My bedroom window overlooked rolling fields, mooing cows and there was often the distant, comforting hum of a tractor, dog barking or flock of birds tweeting. My Gran would come to stay and we would walk her dog, Bruno, for hours down country lanes and across the fields. Despite being nearly sixty years apart in age, we would laugh and chat for hours on end. When she was staying I would run downstairs to her room every morning and jump under the covers to chat and I would pretend I liked drinking coffee so I would feel more grown up! I look back to those times - the unaltered, naive bliss of childhood - with misty-eyed warmth.


One cold winter's day, I snuck out on my bike and rode to the local store to buy chocolate. And there it was, the plastic wrapper glinting under the clinical strip lighting of the store: my first ever issue of Livingetc, complete with a free foldout fabric wardrobe organiser. Pennies handed over, and magazine hidden away in my rucksack, I hurriedly cycled back home. I still remember that very night when I hid under the covers with a torch and read the whole issue, cover-to-cover. From then on, each month I would look forward to slipping into its pages. This was my time to dive headfirst into what I loved and enjoy what would turn out to shape who I am.

Twelve years later and I've graduated from university with a Journalism degree, my Gran is still living life to the full and I'm now writing freelance about interiors. And, of course, I'm still reading Livingetc. The only difference? There's not a torch in sight. Nope. Now I hold my copy proudly as I sit reading it in the coffee shop, riding the tube or at my desk. I'm a guy who loves interiors and you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.

34 comments:

  1. we wouldn't have you any other way, either, Will!

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  2. I love the cliff hanging who know :) Living Etc is one of my favorite magazines too.

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  3. Now your love to Living etc (which I share) gets a whole new meaning. Thanks for sharing, Will!

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  4. Your childhood home is so cute and charming!! Love your story!

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  5. Will I love it! You childhood home is so beautiful. It must have been an amazing place to grow up in.

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  6. Lovely story and gorgeous childhood home! Jane @ the girl in the brick house.

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  7. Will, I love your childhood home! Talk about bucolic.. Your story of your relationship with your Gran.. so special and heart warming! Your relationship with LivingEtc, also touching and heart warming. : )

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  8. Will I love this story and am about to call my 10yo son to read it. He said to me the other day "mum I wish I could tell my friends that I love to re-arrange and decorate my room and watch decorating & designing shows" I told him that he should tell his friends & that the ones who no longer want to be his friend because of it will miss out, because to have such a passion at his age can only result in a fabulous and interesting adult.

    And now you Will can prove my theory to him.....

    Katie

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  9. LOVE Your childhood home!!! So charming!!!

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  10. Gorgeous childhood home Will and your Gran sounds like a gem! I love me some Living Etc. too:-)

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  11. Such a lovely story Will. Isn't it funny how our childhood can have such a huge influence on what makes us into the people we are today? xx

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  12. Your childhood home is unreal! So adorable! This post is too cute!

    Luvs!

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  13. want to wish you a great week Will. hardly have time to visit my fellow bloggers currently but it doesn;t mean I don't think about you :)) xx

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  14. Gosh Will what a great post. Love getting to know you a little better, and your childhood home - what a dream! So very cool that the passion you had way back then has not gone anywhere, but only been made truer and brighter.

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  15. what a wonderful story! From now on I'll read Livingetc in a totally different light, and of course without a flashlight ;-)

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  16. Such a touching post! Thank you for sharing, Will! Yay for Living Etc!

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  17. Your childhood home and life sounds amazing Will! I loved this post, didn't want it to end!

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  18. Brilliant post you have a talent for both writing and interiors Will - just for a moment there I thought you were going to say your friends were Julian,Dick, George, Anne and Timmy the dog! Sinead

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  19. Your childhood home is adorable Will and your Gran sounds lovely! Thanks for sharing your wonderful story :)

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  20. I am so in love with this post!! From your childhood to your closeted love of a shelter magazine... You are the loveliest!

    Thanks so much for playing along!! Really... Love this and totally smitten with you!

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  21. Loved learning more about you! Really great post. Hope you have a fab week!

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  22. My favourite "My Life is an Open Book" post yet! Now how I am going to come even close to this when I do mine in a couple of weeks? :)

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  23. what a LOVELY post you have here.. and BLOG too!! it it great to meet you and know a little more about your fabulous life!! i posted my "my life is an open book" today too! :D

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  24. LOVE the part about your grandmother...I was the same with my grandfather ("Hi Sugarplum!")

    Thank you for sharing with us!
    xo, cass

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  25. your childhood home is making me lust for a London/English countryside mini-vaca ASAP!!!

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  26. I'm looking at the "childhood home" and thinking, you're kidding me. How picturesque. And how much cooler than a split level ranch in suburban Canton, Ohio.

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  27. I adore this story about your Gran and the things that have shaped your life - can't wait to read more. Your column in Rue was amazing!!! Keep it coming.

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  28. Your post is fantastic! Your writing is so delightful and I can totally picture your childhood home from your words. I fantasized about living in the English countryside growing up with my fave books like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, etc. Thanks for taking me there and "meeting" your gran.

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  29. adorable + clever! i love the story. xoxo

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  30. Lovely. Please put Gran on the blog. And please write more stories like these. I love it.

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  31. Such a sweet post! LOVE your childhood home! And love how your passion for interior design started! :)

    xx
    dagny

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  32. Will, that's such a sweet post; love the part about you "drinking" coffee w/ your Grandmother :)

    And, I can't say I've ever heard anyone else describe themselves as an olive-loving geek. . .

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  33. Your kind words about my childhood are very touching. Thank you.

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  34. oh, how I LOVE this, Will!

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