6th July

Gravity-Levity R&D session, The Point, Eastleigh

Well, I’ve hit my third trimester and after a well-earned holiday (poignantly the last of its kind) following my run of shows, I am back to square one with R&D sessions, concepts and development for next year’s shows.

This week I’ve been in Eastleigh developing concepts for a piece involving both aerial and ground-based choreography looking at themes from the Great War ahead of the anniversary of it’s start in 2014. Strangely enough, it’s the first time I have been involved in ‘workshopping’ a show in my about-face career (where I open my first show on a world stage then backtrack to get down and dirty on the guerrilla stuff)! Nice to feel creative, excited and on a learning curve just when my body is starting to warn of a slow-down.

Yes, the sickness is coming back, the aches are finally appearing and I am more tired than before – a bit like the first trimester really! Above all, I’m noticing my ‘nesting’ hormones kicking in and my interest in work is – SHOCK HORROR – declining! Not when I’m working, thankfully, but just when I think about the prospect of working the following day. I can see how people decided that baby is all they are interested in and stay off work for a year – or interminably. I am still determined that this won’t be me but let’s say I can see where those urges come from. All chemical.

I think I am going to consider giving up cycling to work before too long, which is a shame as the independence from TFL would be handy during the Olympics.I have also submitted my Statutory Maternity Pay form – the first step along the way to that £135-odd a week I’ll be living off afterwards. Let’s just hope producers keep paying royalties for a while yet as this is my additional little slush fund for the 4-6 months I won’t be earning. On other money matters, I need to work out when I slow the pace of the work in general. I need to make sure my last remaining project earnings are decent before that happens: I’m catered for until the end of July but August may be a bit quieter and a time to put in some more research for the first show of 2013, which would mean fewer days per week and the possibility of working from home though if more sure-fire cash project-based work comes up for then, I should probably take it! Needless to say, I am feeling keenly these ‘last time I’ll do…’ moments, one of which being ‘…be free to go to work and earn without worrying about childcare’.

When all said and done, I am an optimist and it always works out, the way I see it.