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Published: August 26th 2007
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Meet the Roses
Jude and Jish with David, Rachel and Logan Rose. Also behind the lens is David's son, Evan :-) Seeing as we've been back in the UK for well over 2 months now, it seemed it was high time that I got off my unemployed behind and went to visit some of my favourite people.
Glynn decided not to come with me and leaving him behind in Birmingham was hard, mainly because we've not spent a day apart for about one and a half years. We said our goodbyes by the gates at the grim and grotty Birmingham New Street station as you can no longer go on to the platforms unless you have a ticket. So much for my visions of a waving Glynn running alongside my train as we pulled out.
Any how, two hours later, I found myself on the receiving end of a big hug from Linda, my rock chick partner in crime. We've actually known each other since university when I was president of the Rock Soc and she was a member I regularly harrassed into coming to events. We lost touch after university but then one day, not long after I had moved back to Swindon in 2000, we quite randomly bumped into each other in a pub. It was a big
Yummy Mummy
Jish, always one for the ladies, is not even fazed by newborn babies! surprise to me to find out that she now lived in Swindon and thus inevitable that we would end up going to gigs and clubs together and becoming best friends.
Since Glynn and I left to travel the world, a few things have changed about Swindon. The town itself is very much the same as I remember it but all my friends seem to have grown up! Of the three pairs of friends I visited over the weekend, 2 of them have moved house and one of them has become parents - eek! Linda fell into the category of housemover and I got the grand tour on arrival, complete with a fun hour spent in the back garden playing with the miniature frogs in her new ponds.
We had originally planned to go clubbing in the evening at the Furnace, Swindon's little rock club and our old haunt. When Linda mentioned having been there last weekend and it being virtually dead though, it lost its appeal for me. Besides, I was here to see my old friends so we called up my sci-fi buddies, Liam and Danny, got some beers in and chatted together till the small hours
Monticelli and Hess
Jude with two of her favourite men in the whole world - Danny (left) and Liam. of the morning. Excellent.
After a long lie in on Saturday morning, Linda drove me over to see my other good friends, Rachel and David. This was easier said than done though as I had completely forgotten how to get there - although I didn't realise this until we were well underway. Thank God for mobile phones, that's all I can say!
Seeing the two of them again was brilliant, especially as they have successfully created a whole new person while I was away. Baby Logan is just 6 weeks old and even cuter than Jish (don't tell Jish I said that!). Hearing Rachel's stories about childbirth and post-natal dramas was enough to make me reconsider whether having kids is such a good idea but holding Logan and seeing his big, dark eyes gazing up at me, it wasn't long before my cluckiness returned. Talking about moving overseas with Rachel and David was equally wonderful as they are kindred spirits who would undoubtedly leave the UK if it weren't for family ties.
In the evening, we were invited over to Liam and Danny's new house for an unofficial housewarming party and it was nice to see some
Hello Pussy
Either Jish is missing his girlfriend, Hello Kitty and needs a substitute or he's practising for a role as evil baddie in the next James Bond movie. You decide! familiar faces among the guests, although shocking to learn that yet more people are busy growing babies! I guess that's what happens when your circle of friends become a big group of thirty-somethings. I whiled away much of the evening chatting and playing on Danny's Wii and was astounded at how knackered I was after a few rounds of simulated boxing. So much for all the time I've spent at the gym in the last 2 months! It was a fun night and again I found myself crawling into bed at gone 2am - something I don't do very often these days!
As the train pulled out of Swindon on Sunday afternoon, I expected to feel sad at leaving my most lived in place behind. I worked out once that I've moved house at least 34 times in the 33 years I've been alive and the longest I spent anywhere was in Swindon. While I enjoyed the nostalgia factor of good times spent with good friends, I couldn't shake the feeling that Swindon is now simply a piece of my past. I'll be back again to see everyone before we go to New Zealand though. I wonder how many people will move house and have kids in the mean time....
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