It’s been a while since I wrote about myself on here. There are a number of reasons for that. Most importantly, I don’t think I’m particularly interesting. And also, I’ve been busy. Really busy.
However, I get asked so often how This Little Lady Went to London came to be, I thought I’d write it down and hopefully give you some kind of idea of the journey I’ve been on to get us to where we are now…which is 3 redesigns…many sleepless nights…and a whole lot of words later.
TLLWTL was originally created in 2009. Some of you will remember it back then. It looked a bit like this. Different (and a bit rubbish), huh? For those loyal and lovely people who have been here since the start, I salute you. Many of you have become friends. Back then (and still now), your support was invaluable. You helped me through the hardest part of my life and kept me laughing, something I will never forget. And all of you still do.
You see, in the beginning, the site was mainly about my recovery. In 2004, I was seriously injured in a horrible hit and run accident on my way to work. That day changed my life completely. I went from being a happy go lucky, reasonably successful young woman, to a broken, defeated mess. The injuries were not “fixable” in the traditional sense. I spent so long in and out of hospital I started to call it home. Numerous operations, Doctors and days of pain passed. I tried every therapy. Every treatment. Every drug. I spent almost 5 years fighting the demons of chronic pain, with no sign of it stopping. For anyone who has ever lived with pain at this level, you have my heart. It’s soul destroying. You cannot sleep, move, function. It’s all consuming. It’s relentless.
Gradually though, with the help of a marvelous trauma therapist, residential rehab programmes, physio, pain clinics, steroid injections, anti-depressants, pain meds, a great Doctor or 2 and a whole lot of support from the best people in the world (my friends), I started to improve. And although my body didn’t want to work again, my mind did. I started to blog. To vent, to release, to discuss, to create. So from a very dark place, This Little Lady Went to London was born. And people started to read it. And I started to feel positive again. To feel like I did have something left to offer.
And thanks to word of mouth, some great contributors, the power of Twitter and a bit luck, we grew. And as I got better, we covered different topics. And we grew a bit more. And we received a few accolades. And I improved some more. And although the pain will never go away, and although my muscles don’t work properly and I still don’t sleep, I keep improving. And I hope TLLWTL will keep growing.
I have managed now to get to a point where as well as Managing and Editing TLLWTL I have also returned to work, as a Community Manager for Cloud Nine Recruitment, meeting fabulous people who work in Social Media, a field I have learnt to love through these experiences. Life is good these days. I’m tired, but I’m positive. And I’m living for the moment, hoping to make the most of every opportunity, every minute.
So that’s it. That’s how This Little Lady Went to London came to be. A happy little accident, that I have learnt to love very much (and I hope you quite like it too.)
I genuinely believe that whatever life throws at you, you CAN deal with it. You can turn the situation round and still become the best possible version of yourself. Acceptance is a wonderful thing. Learn which bits you can fight, and which bits to let go. Surround yourself by good people and show a lot of love to everyone. You never know when you’re going to need a little bit of love back.
If I can help one person through chronic pain or illness…if I can give one person who is in a dark place a little bit of hope…I feel like it’s all been worth it. And once again. I cannot thank the readers of TLLWTL…old and new…for supporting us and making me feel like ME again. You really are a very special bunch indeed. x
You can read a few of the earlier posts from TLLWTL here. Be warned though. They’re not all sweetness and light!
I sit here feeling choked, holding back the tears having just read that. The thing that struck me the most was no matter what life threw at you, you got on and dealt with it and you feel blessed, happy and loved.
I am starting to smile now. I have had very dark days myself but like you have pushed on and come out of it a blessed and happier person.
I came across your site and read the reviews, blogs, comps etc and was hooked. I am a 37 yr old scouser who lives in a cheshire town with my gorgeous hubby ( whos from Kent) 2 daughters and our chocolate labrador…..Living the dream!
We were in London for the weekend (29th july-31st july) for our Anniversary. We kicked off Canary Wharf on fri. On saturday we went to the southbank sat on the grass and drank champagne mohitos and Laduree Macaroons. Saturday night we went to the Cinnamon Club for Dinner ( between 6-7 is Happy Hour) The cocktails were amazing and so was the food, decor and staff. Definately 10 out of 10. Then we went to Vista at the Trafalgar ( we were more bolshey than usuall after 8 cocktails and a shot of Patron) After gaining entry with the rude bitch on the door who spoke to us like she was an SS officer. We invited ourselves into a private party for Morgan Stanley were free flowing bottles of Pommery Champagne, Peroni and Cocktails came our way. We had the Best Views of nelsons Column and took lots of pics. My hubby was really getting into it telling the waiters he was sick of these corporate events and the American young toffs that he manages everyday. 2 hours later , the straw that broke the camels back was when my hubby asked this guy to bring over a heater cos we were getting a bit chilli. This small italian called Luka dragged over this heater, sweat dripping off his nose, nearly tripping over his own turn ups ( his trousers consisted of 2 pockets and 2 turnips). Asked did we need anything else and we got 2 more cocktails . I went the toilet were i was chatting shit to these girls who were asking me were i got my dress, shoes from and why i was in the private area? when the door opened and i heard my husband shout “time to leave”. I told the girls to check out “this little lady went to london” and the sister site “this little scouser goes to London” They were like oh we will. Whipping out there i phones and asking my name to facebook me.
Me and my hubby were in the lift and he told me we had to leave because it turns out that Luka was the bars manager and clicked we werent with the party and wanted the money. My hubby grabbed Lukas hand and put a tenner in his palm and said we will see you later. before we knew it we were walking across Trafalgar Square to our next stop the ECC in china town. Outside was this pompous tit who looked like frank Side Bottom and had the worst smelling breath ever………………………………The story continues.
Sometimes someone else’s story takes you out of your own little dramas and shifts your perspective in surprising ways. This is one of those times. I make no apology for using this cliché ~ thank you for sharing.