Twenty years ago i was a ‘player’ , I’d spent two years backpacking and partying and was back in the UK to earn enough dosh for my next adventure. John was a quiet, gentle man, happily out of any complicated relationship and dealing with his ‘baggage’ as any good ostrich would!! I was only going to be in the UK for 3 months so I was a safe bet for a fun-filled time before disappearing off into the wilderness. As i said, that was 20 years ago. I don’t like to call in ‘entrapment’…..
Ten years ago, having moved from London and banking to Essex and recruitment / software, we took a weekend break in the wonderful wilderness of Mid Wales in a teeny-weeny itsy-bitsy cutesie-whootsie town called Llanwrtyd Wells. And our lives changed forever. 
We celebrated our 10th by having a farewell party; a gathering of friends and family and some live music from our brother-in-law and his rock band Hedgehog. Jason was seven.
This weekend we celebrated our 20th in our favourite pub in our lovely home town of Llanwrtyd Wells, surrounded by friends and entertained by live music from our son, now almost 17 and some of his, and our, talented friends
I have made 3 great decisions in my life. The first was not leaving for Africa; the second was having our son and the third was moving to Llanwrtyd
I love my man more each day. It hasn’t always been easy. Anyone who knows me will understand why…. for sure I am not the steadiest of personalities to live with. I have my depressions, my health crisises, my emotional turmoils. But in John I have my best friend, my soul mate, my counsellor, my anchor, my lover and my life force. Without him and his patience and understanding we would not have an ‘us’ – he has never given up on me and he sees in me the loveliness and goodness that I sometimes lose sight of. He never does.
I believe I said that each and every person there and those who simply couldn’t be there has impacted on, played a part in and added value to our lives and i am proud and honoured to know that we are in their hearts and they are in ours.
This blog may appear slushy and self-indulgent but I think it is a story that anyone can connect their life to … We have friends. We are so blessed. This weekend whilst hosting our celebration i discovered how many amazing and wonderful friends we have. I discovered great friendships blossoming in people I’ve known for 5 minutes and reaffirmed great friendships that have lasted nearly all our lifetime. I even feel good to have disconnected myself with someone I thought was a friend and have finally accepted, is not. I feel great. Energised. Loved.
Important dates punctuate our lives and it is appropriate to want to share those with the people you love. And the real people you love will want to be with you even if they can’t. And these punctuation marks in our timelines remind us who our true friends are and how lucky we are to have them
And anyway, with all that aside; what a party!! A weekend of laughter, and joy, eating and drinking, walking, singing and dancing. A weekend of music and friendships of reminiscences and forging strong bonds. Saturday evening in the Neuadd Arms Hotel with friends from near and far. The homely welcoming atmosphere it offers; the great beers brewed on site , the delicious and over generous catering by their chef, Paul. It was said as a joke, but not only are we blessed with great friend but some of them own a pub and brewery 😉 ….
… and some of them own great musical talent. We were entertained by mandolins, drums, cajons, congas, guitars and great vocals – organised by our son and performed as an open jam… I am so proud and happy to know so many great people. I am so proud and honoured by our ‘extended family’ of Jason’s beautiful and talented friends. I cannot thank Jason, Georgia, Tyler, Zak and Lottie enough. Young, talented, thoughtful, and a joy to be with. I also thank Ian, Eugene and Paul for performing, and am humbled by the distances some people travelled to share our moment. (And of course i thank Mr Badaxe for his memorable involvement – lol )
I am loved and I love back. Generously, unconditionally and wholeheartedly. My friends, my son, my partner, Our life together…..
this blog is dedicated to all our wonderful and cherished friends
- I am a lucky girl xxxx
That’s lovely Bernie – so nice to have been there – thanks for that – and great to meet your friends / family from further afield – wonderful evening – and in another ten, let’s do it again X