Some time ago, I'm no longer sure whether I was in Iraq or back home at the time, I caught snippets of the film: 'Love is a Many Splendid thing.' I has always reminded me of my Uncle Eddie, God rest his soul and a time when I was living at home in the bosom of my natural family.
I must have been busy flitting between the kitchen and the living room/ my bedroom and the living room and since then, I haven't been able to get the theme to leave my brain alone.
Life has been reduced to a series of worries concerning a number of issues: Helen's birthday present, my up-coming move to the UAE, our summer holiday et cetera, et cetera! Otherwise, the daily grind has been doing just that and I'm sorry to say that I have come to realise that the reality of being a free agent is not what it's cracked up to be. To be perfectly blunt, I'm as board as hell but still I have plenty to do!
It was my birthday last weekend and that was a lovely day, which I spent with Tom and later a good number of my family. Tom took me shopping for my present and bought me quite a bit of bling. I now have a new watch, which works, and a pair of beautiful gold drop earrings. He also took me to get my ears re-pierced, something I've been wanting for a while.
Sianni had booked me into her favourite beauty treatment shop to have eyebrows shaped with that 'cat's cradle type thing', (bloody hell that hurts! It feels like someone is dragging very sharp razors across your brow;) and my lashes tinted. The greys go tonight! And she also got me a lovely turquoise scarf, on the day. Helen took me for lunch to our favourite restaurant: Greens in Didsbury. I do urge you to try it, if you're ever around. I just love it and one of the reasons is that one glance at the menu and you cannot fail to see that for who ever cooks the fare, it is nothing short of a labour of love!
"Cheshire cheese and sage sausages, bubble and squeak, beer gravy and tomato chutney...
Spinach, pistachio and feta filo pie with cinnamon tomato sauce and honey...
Grilled goats’ cheese on a toasted crouton with walnut dressed leaves..."
et al are phrases which are a pleasure to read, especially out loud! Honestly, whenever I've been there, hungry or not, just one glance of the menu and my taste buds are whetted!
I'm one week nearer my departure date for the UAE and one week further away in time from Iraq and my friends from there. Had bad news recently: the son of one of my friends has met with a serious accident, while two of the other guys, who were a couple when we were over there, have apparently split up. The news depressed me mightily, because they seemed to be so well matched and they were both such fun to be with.
The fella, Mark, is an English teacher, just like myself. It's very noticeable that he has a fascination for witty, funny and effective words and phrases. His way of expressing himself is quite distinctive; whether speaking or writing, his turn of phrase is crafted to engage the interest of his audience and make them laugh. I hope both he and Joanne are well and I wish the same for all of my new found friends. I do miss them.
Soon I'll be off to Cyprus with the 'love of my life.' The depression of the last few days will lift and I'll be singing a different tune: God forbid that it should be: 'Oh we're going off to Cyprus...'
