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The best laid plans

Back in Febrary, when the world was still open and people could go to the cinemas, I went and saw Emma.

My son was at school and my husband at work. I took the tube to Leicester Square, went to the Vue cinema, bought myself a ticket and went inside.

There were only a few people in the movie theatre. One woman sat a few rows behind me, and two young women sat to my left. Other than the four of us, I think the rest of the theatre was empty. I quietly waited for the movie to start.

Emma. Handsome. Clever. Rich.

The movie was a beautiful and funny reimagining of Jane Austen’s novel by the same name. Directed by Autumn de Wilde, it’s a story of a privileged young woman who eventually finds love after trying to orchestrate romances between her friends.

Box Hill Films – © 2019 Focus Features, LLC. All Rights Reserved

I loved it. I fell in love with it as the titles came up in the opening sequence. The movie was exquisitely shot, cleverly adapted and made me smile.

I wished my family was with me at the cinemas that day. Although, part of me believes my two men would have been quite relieved to have missed out on the opportunity.

I’ve been a fan of Jane Austen and the various adaptations of her stories for a while. Who could forget the influence of Clueless when we were growing up? It was a loose interpretation of Emma set in Beverly Hills, California in 1995.

Different country. Different time. Same meddling that doesn’t go to plan.

It can be frustrating how our best laid, cleverly orchestrated plans can go awry. I’ve never meddled in love, but we did plan things before COVID-19 became a pandemic.

One of the reasons we packed up our home in Sydney and came to London was to travel. We thought it would be a great opportunity to see the UK and the rest of Europe.

Paris is just a short train trip away, my husband would say. We could visit Italy or Spain for the weekend.

Now we’re adjusting to being house bound for however many weeks it will take for this pandemic to be over. It’s an awful time. There were more than 800 deaths in the UK yesterday. Less than the day before, but it is still a lot of families who will be mourning their loss.

I cannot wait for this time to be over.

I know I will enjoy the art galleries and restaurants again. But, inspired by Emma, I am also looking forward to seeing beautiful homes and castles scattered around England.

I know the best laid plans can take a different turn. But here’s to hoping we won’t have to adjust to this new normal for too much longer. There are beautiful English countrysides and houses to explore.

Box Hill Films – © 2019 Focus Features, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Discover Prompt #10: Orchestrate

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