Toni - Graffiti Artist

Known by Summers in the UK and Hargis in the USA, Toni is the author of Rules, Britannia; An Insider’s Guide to Life in the United Kingdom, (St. Martin’s Press) and a prolific blogger.  Born and raised in the north east of England, (God’s chosen country and England’s hidden gem), Toni is the product of the Catholic convent girls’ education system, and wears her emotional scars like a badge of honour. She attended Bristol University in the early 80’s and somehow obtained a Law Degree within the specified time period.  She spent the rest of the 80s pretending to work in London, frequenting the trendy clubs and bars with a merry group of cohorts (who shall, for the moment, remain nameless), and defying the laws of human biology with minimal sleep and too much alcohol.

Toni achieved a semblance of respectability in 1990 when she married an upstanding American and moved to the USA. She now lives in Chicago with said American and three anglo-American children. Although they all speak with an American accent, they recognize their mother’s threats of a 'good bollocking', and can be heard saying 'Bloody hell' with the best of them.  Hob Nobs don’t last five minutes in the pantry and the middle child plans to attend a British university where the drinking age is lower!

A considerable gap between the youngest child and his older siblings means that Toni has spent over sixteen consecutive years with a small child in the house for all or part of the day. (SIXTEEN consecutive years.) September 2009 heralds a new era, as the little guy finally goes to school all day. There are several writing projects awaiting completion as well as leisurely lunches, light workouts and a five year old home décor to-do list.

Toni blogs as Expat Mum ( www.expatmum.blogspot.com), and co-hosts the Pond Parleys blog (http://pondparleys.blogspot.com). Her book, Rules, Britannia, can be sampled and purchased at www.rulesbritannia.com

Links:

Expat Mum

Pond Parleys Blog

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