LOVELY WEEKEND

I’ve had a remarkably lovely weekend given everything that has been going on recently. Especially so for a “non child” weekend which is always harder to bear. The children have been with their father – my teenage son popped in briefly yesterday to pick up a change of clothes and showed me the CUTEST picture of their new puppy – only three weeks old and small enough to sit in his hand. They won’t be able to collect it until after Christmas, but still, all the kids are hugely excited about it and I’m trying not to keep searching the internet for a baby elephant. As one of my blog friends pointed out – their wees and poos are WAY to huge to deal with.

Last night we were invited to join some friends at a black tie function in London. This was marginally stressful at 4pm yesterday when we realised that Builder Bloke had nothing appropriate to wear. So a friend suggested going to Marks and Spencer’s to buy one and not long after that he came back with a dress jacket, trousers, white shirt, cummerbund, bow tie and cufflinks (proper Builder Bloke cufflinks with little hammers and screwdrivers on) all for under £100! I thought that was amazing. He looked gorgeous. Even if his trousers did explode by the end of the evening. Sometimes it’s really lovely going out with friends you see a lot but all dressed up, with every body looking amazing. We drank, ate, danced, drank some more, danced really badly and then this morning during a post mortem with a friend I could hear her daughter in the background saying “mum, are you joking? You were at a black tie do and you were on the dance floor playing an air guitar on your knees??”.

Things seem to have settled down of late between all the respective ex’s. We seem to have reached a quiet truce regarding Christmas plans with the children and my ex husband came to my father’s Memorial and sat with some very close friends of mine – in fact one of them said to him half way through “oh look you are sitting with two out of three of your bridesmaids from your first wedding!”. Last week, in amongst our regular disputes about children and money he commented on the bottom of one email that:-

“On a sad, but good, note: I thought your reading at your Dad’s memorial last week was really lovely – all the readings in fact – and if ever there can be a good time at a sad event like that, his memorial was just that. It was great to see so many people, to hear the lovely speeches and to say goodbye to your fabulous Dad – he would have loved it”.

Which I thought was lovely of him. He had a very good relationship with my father until our marriage fell apart and was very upset throughout the entire service. Same again when he spoke to my mother. Sad.

Builder Bloke and his ex wife are suddenly getting on massively well. She is phoning him many times a day again. Which to be honest I find a little disconcerting. She wants to meet him for a drink to discuss the children and given that the last time they had a drink together she recorded his conversation and subsequently had him arrested, I find it all a little difficult. Of course it is very good news that they are making an effort to get on for the sake of the children, but why am I feeling a little unnerved about the volte face? Why do they have to meet for a drink? I should be encouraging, but I don’t really get it. Anyway, I’m not sure if it’s anything to do with me. Am I allowed to have a view on that, or do I just let them get on with it and try and rise above it.

The only bad thing that happened this weekend is that Cher is out of the X Factor. I had been reliably informed that she was definitely going to win it and now I owe a friend some money. Oh well. COME ON “MATT”.