Monday 24 May 2010

Rolling Back the Years

So there I was,  parking up the car ( a moderately respectable one at last, rather than my old student days banger ) in the university car park and heading off, rather nervously, for my re-union.  As I made my way towards the registration desk, I noticed that a lot of elderly people were arriving ... must be something else going on today I thought until I realised that they were about the same age as me and we were all heading for the same event . Now that REALLY made me LOL as they say.

My flat mate of 30 years ago, Sheila,  looked just the same as she greeted me with a shriek and in a moment I was transported back in time. I can't begin to describe the feeling. The girls had all scrubbed up quite well but the guys were ... well , a little pot bellied and hairless to be honest.

After a whistle stop tour of the campus  ( remembered the Student Union bar well but didn't remember a thing about the library ) we gathered for Pimms , lunch and a catch up. Could have talked all day reminiscing , in fact we did just that. But the best bit of the day was our memory trip around Crowe Hall. I won't go into detail here but suffice to say, Sheila and I lived a charmed life for the 3 years we were university students in Bath in one of the grandest houses in the city . And here's a picture to prove it. We were lucky enough to occupy what had once been the servants quarters and had the run of the grounds and house which included the most sumptuously kept gardens, tennis courts, wild flower meadows ... not to mention the wine cellars and a galleried hall where we played the grand piano and the walls dripped with Canaletto paintings. Did we have any idea how lucky we were ?






It's now on the market for £6m , only wish I had enough dosh to put in a bid but at least we lived the life albeit for a short time. Although it's been 30 years since we last strolled around the grounds , to coin that old cliche , it really did only feel like yesterday.




Friday 14 May 2010

Graduation Re-union

Tomorrow , I'm off to Bath for the 30th anniversary re-union of my graduation back in 1980. Have to admit I'm a bit nervous but dying to meet up with my flat-mate whom I haven't seen in , must be at least a decade. I've dug out the photos of us looking youthful back in the 70's. Husband , meanwhile is downstairs sulking. Not sure why , but I'm thinking it must be something bordering on resentment. He has to look after the children for about 48 hours and so I reckon he must be seething with rage at this infringement on his freedom ... welcome to my world. So, in more than one way am I celebrating my graduation ... once as a throwback to the heady seventies and second time around as my graduation to the world of freedom and the reversal of roles. Should be one hell of a weekend. Can't wait . Feel like I've been set free, like a butterfly. About time too.

Sunday 2 May 2010

Job Description

I drove behind a van today whose business claimed to embrace the following :

  • Mail
  • Express
  • Fulfillment
  • Dangerous Goods
  • Conferencing
I'm none the wiser as to what they actually do , maybe their company name - Impulse - would give me a clue ? I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at their financiers when they presented their business plan - well what we want to do is very impulsive and besides fulfillment we want to deal with dangerous goods . I can only imagine that 'conferencing' was thrown in for good measure to give the package some credibility.

Anyway as they sped off into the distance, squeezing through the traffic lights on amber , it left me wondering how their application must have appeared to their insurers.

Q: Company Name ?
A: Impulse

Q: Nature of Business ?
A: Dangerous Goods ... oh ... and Fulfillment

So, if I were to emblazon my own virtual van with a smattering of things I'd like to describe as my chief activities, it would probably read ...

  • Constant Meal Preparation
  • Picking up Boys Clothes From Floor
  • Ironing
  • Cleaning Toilets
  • Dangerous Children
  • Distinct lack of Fulfillment
Doesn't quite have the same ring to it does it ?