this month i have been completely spoiled to have the wonderful sally from the cafe cat hanging out on my sidebar (and a lot in my inbox and even occasionally in person over a tea!), and am extra buzzing and totally excited to have her blogging here instead for the day. thank you so much for being so positive, supportive and generally a really great leaning post for those particularly depressing emails this last month, and so, so much for writing this post for us sally, you legend. without further ado... take it away love!
When I was a little girl, my school report read that I loved honey sandwiches, writing stories, doing things my own sweet way and sharing everything I had - which in those days was mostly hugs, or a particularly special twig...
Not much has changed twenty years on, except my sandwich horizons have broadened considerably and rather than twigs, I have a lot more to share, which is why I think myself very lucky to count making friends with like-minded people as part of my day to day job.
I had been blogging for more than five years and living here there and everywhere. I started as Sally Spoon in Canterbury, moved to the Cosy Cat in Zamora and Pamplona, the Café Cat in Barcelona and the City Kitty in London- the latter two are where I have stayed put since, in London.
Throughout this time, I worked not only as a teacher but as a writer, in cafés and bars, on farms and I even slaved a while in an I.T firm, although here I mostly spent my time co-ordinating the office book club and library and telling stories of how lost I felt in bad Spanish to Blanca, the cleaner, gesticulating wildly with a teaspoon.
Having moved over 20 times in 8-years and endlessly chasing impossibly imbalanced relationships, I found the cold truth had slowly dawned. I NEEDN’T HAVE GONE ANYWHERE. It was all there on that report almost 23 years ago in a small, pretty town in New England.
That’s not to say that there and then I simply stayed put and everything righted itself. Oh no. I spent another year living on three different sofas, working three odd jobs, managing mini projects and dragging a suitcase around between it all. The difference was, I had an objective (and massive holes in my shoes). What’s more though, I knew who I was, even if I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted.
So my mission statement wasn’t succinct- it went a little something along the lines of putting a struggling love to rest and refusing to work another dead-end office job, even if it meant hardly scrimping by. I continued to blog away throughout it all and further built a network of kindred spirits, inviting everyone to tea and never saying no to a new opportunity.
In a nutshell though, I suppose you could say, I just put one foot in front of the other for myself and only myself. After what seemed like a fucking long time, a job that I didn’t even know I’d love fell into my lap, a little email from a blue-eyed boy of my past led to what is so far a gorgeously balanced relationship and I even found a little bedroom that I could call my own.
And so it is that from here, for now, I can concentrate on doing what I do best again. Food, writing stories (or helping others to write theirs) and sharing all the good things that come my way- be it a twig, a collaboration with a great brand or a hug.
(The Café Cat works as Senior Digital Communications Executive for lifestyle brands with the advanced search agency 4PS Marketing for brands including Selfridges, Liberty, Jamie Oliver, Lindt Chocolate and Jing Tea. Please invite her for chats and tea. She’s an outdoors girl at heart and loves to escape the office)... please make sure you leave her some love after this lovely sharing time piece... x
