I don’t dwell in the past…
I’m all up to date…
and
I rock and I roll with the times…
I pay my taxes just like anyone else, my bills and my mortgage, for dancing and singing, for yoga, pilates, send the kids off to Welcombe to do a quick course at the Yarner to get them out of my hair for the day, take Billy to Golf and they come back so happy at the end of the day that I feel great guilt! And have done nothing at all that was wrong…
Jess has made a felt flower and Tom brings a panel made of red glass and yellow all set in lead like a small window to hang in the hall so it might catch the sun, a plaster on his finger but he had survived it and he loved it all, he’ll go again soon, is what he said and so too will Jess, it’s bee keeping next…
Must quickly check e-mails and facebook and twitter, load pics up to Flikr and work Photoshop for a bit, check the history on the puter to see where they’ve been, lol…
…and…
…then do lunch with the ladies, The White Hart's the in place, is where everyone goes now to lunch on the yummies that the Dutchman’s prepared.
Such an artist he is in the kitchen and out and he bakes all his own bread, tasty morsels to tempt you. Clear golden soups with lovage and chives and his choc tart is divine, the coffee amazing , all made with a glint in his eye and to die for and he comes in at the end to see if he’s passed…with not even a pearl drop of sweat on his brow…
…we all nod and we smile, we could hug him in turn, we would hug him in turn if we could…and he knows that we would and disappears happy, knows he’s excelled and succeeded and offers a treat to each one of a chocolate praline or perhaps a little liqueur?
Oh, ladies that lunch do so very much more… and they remember the past and how it all was…the excitement on Fridays when you’d get ready to go out for the night...you never knew whom you would meet…the twist was the thing then with Elvis and Chubby….we wore mini skirts and the sack was the rage…we teased up our hair in a beehive, wore lipstick, Pink Icing, and eau de cologne...Tweed was my favourite and Sandalwood too. Wore Tweed for Jimmy and Sandal for Jack and I alternated every week. Not that we ever stuck just to one…there was lovely Larry with his blond hair and a quiff combed back with Brylcream, black haired Brucie who was ever so shy but a mean dancer…there was Melvin who’s Mum had seen God and Chuck who now sported a DA, very chic, crepe sole shoes of blue suede and he rocked, jacket with a black velvet collar. I loved little David the best and Swiss Pauli who wore lipstick and dressed up in girl’s clothes. We even smoked a cigarette or two and the silver holder Mum no longer wanted looked ever so cool, is what everyone said…I wore white winkle picker heels or the blue T-straps and liked to wear dark tan stockings as if my legs were brown. We went for a giggle, and had lots of fun, teased the boys something awful and ate chips with salt and vinegar wrapped in the Daily Mail on the way home on the bus and sometimes mushy peas as well…we had to be home by twelve at the latest and had to make sure of the bus…as a Dad would be waiting at our stop to walk us all home…they took it in turns, our Dads, to make sure we were safe in the dark and alone in our beds…they’d carry our handbags and often our shoes as our feet were so tired from dancing…Joni Mitchell was in, Annie Murray, Bob Dylan and on her guitar played Joan Baez to free us…and Twiggie who did…
The Dutchman will never know about this, and why we all like him so much…he is all the loves we never dared to love, does all that and each of us to dream her dream, and reminisce together… we still are all friends, know who was with whom behind the shed then for a chat, had not moved away at all and still together to this day…and all too soon it is the time to leave, to pay the bill and go…back to the present to pick up the kids, make tea for the golfer, then pour him a G, lol, learned the shortcuts of speak, to understand what they said, get back to the ironing, the washing, feed cats and the dog, water the cactus, prune roses and bushes and pull out some weeds and make sure all the letters had gone to the post to pay all the bills, the new yoga subscription, the lessons for riding….then think of the shopping at Tesco…and think of the tennis at the Tarka next month…braces for teeth and the clinic for Jess…so you see that I rock and I roll with the times…
…and…
…that I’m all up to date…
…I don’t dwell in the past…
