It’s been a right old mix of a day today. I started this morning feeling very optimistic and that continued despite dropping a freshly laid egg on my newly showered toes – yuck, that mix of slimy egg and shell wasn’t good! Still though, my optimism continued and I had a fantastic journey to work on the train, everything worked just fine and the trains were on time (whooppeee).
As some of you will know, I read ‘by the yard’ and the book I’m reading at the moment is striking many chords with me. It’s ‘The Other Woman’s Shoes’ by Adele Parks and I must say I highly recommend it. Anyway, the plot revolves around the lives of a pair of sisters from a nice, normal background, just like my own life with my little sis Jan. The two characters are so like Jan and I it’s not true – Martha is like Jan – a happy mother who loves her husband and kids and is the perfect wife and mother to them all. Eliza is like me – a bit wayward, a bit irresponsible, a bit dotty and she lives with her musician boyfriend (just like me) and their relationship is so many miles away from Martha’s relationship it’s not true. I won’t give away the plot because that would spoil it but there is a bit where the wayward one is defending her sister over an event and she tells her that she’s doing it because she’s her sister and she wants to hit the person who has hurt her sister’s head against the wall for it. It made me think that I really don’t tell my sister enough how much I love her so I got to the office and sent her an email saying just that. Of course Jan probably thinks I’ve been diagnosed with a terminal illness or that I want something now but actually it was just a spontaneous gesture.
After sending the email, I had to go out to a client for the rest of the day and I must say it was both a waste of time and very frustrating because I didn’t get away till late and that meant I only had half an hour at home to get myself showered, changed and all the animals fed before our taxi arrived at 5.30pm. We were going into London to meet up with Sarah and Bondy, two of our footie friends.
It’s at this point that the evening becomes exciting again. Sarah and Bondy are just the most wonderful people. I had no idea how special my friendship with Sarah was (I knew it was special but not completely stellar) until she said she’d been really nervous about coming to meet us, even after knowing me for four years. That’s extraordinary considering how we met – she must have been summoning every ounce of courage to come and meet a complete stranger in a London Underground tunnel way below the ground in the city of London. What’s also really interesting about her is that she’s been around throughout my entire relationship with David. I met her while David and I were still flirting by email before we had our first ‘date’.
Bondy was another gem that we just found along the way in the Bell and Hare. Sarah and I had gone in there for a few (more) drinks after a game and we were behaving quite badly and I spilled a drink on Bondy. I then got into an argument with him about whether or not it was OK to criticise the team (I said no, he said yes) we then exchanged mobile phone numbers and the following morning Sarah and I deleted them from our address books in case they were seen by DM and Andrew, her husband and they took them the wrong way. So, we avoided them (Bondy, Olly, Tom, Phil and the rest) for a few weeks but eventually started talking to them again and it turns out they are really nice guys. Bondy in particular is a lovely, lovely chap.
At the close of last season, we said we’d get together mid-summer for a drink and I thought we wouldn’t because Sarah and I have said much the same every summer and have never achieved it. Bondy was persistent though and he organised us into meeting in central London tonight.
The evening was one of the best nights out I’ve had in ages and ages – we arrived at the pub at7pm after walking along the South Bank from Waterloo and the sun shone and the water glinted. We eventually walked back at around 11pm to catch the last train home. My feet are killing me and I’ve a serious hangover but boy have I had a GREAT night.
Oh and yes, a pure snapshot but who cares?
