I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited but I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it

Hello.

Yes, it really is me. Back again.

Where have I been? What have I been doing? Why am I back in the blogosphere? All good questions that I shall seek to answer over, what I would imagine will be, a few forthcoming posts in addition to this one. There's much to say & one post will not be adequate I'm afraid.

If you've run of out patience with my sporadic forays into the world of blog & would simply like to know if I'm OK then the quick answer would be; No, not really but thanks for asking.

I've been meaning to return to blogland for a while actually but have gotten no further than a few musings in my head &, of course, the obligatory "ooh, that would be a good lyric to use as a post title" observations. Still, here I am typing away like it's 2005 all over again. So where to begin?

Well, my last post was way back in March of 2008 so I'll pick up from there shall I? 2008 actually turned out to be one of the finest years of my whole sorry existence (only bettered by 2009 & run close by 1997). I had embarked on a new career working with young people with "emotional & behavioural difficulties" in a residential home. I not only loved the job but I, rather surprisingly, turned out to be very good at it. I hadn't even completed a year in the role when I was promoted to a more senior role. Who'd have thought it?! I also met lots of really good nice people from all sorts of different walks of life & backgrounds. Having spent the previous 13 years working in a smalltown factory it proved to be quite an eye-opener, quite similar to my earlier Blog years actually when I "met" lots of other new, different & exciting people.
Though I had initially started the job in Northampton, I was unavoidably transferred to a home on the other side of a town some 40 miles away which we'll call Bedford (because that's it's name!)-

Just to digress a moment, I haven't yet developed a plan as to how I'm going to address people in this blog, do I try to retain a soupcon of anonymity for all concerned? Do I fall back on my old "comedy naming in bold letters" system? Do I use initials? Do I just use people's names? I reckon I've got about two sentences to figure it out!

- anyway, Bedford. This meant a considerable amount of driving & that, coupled with the extremely unsociable shift patterns involved, soon led to the demise of my 3 year relationship with my very Nice girlfriend. That and the fact I had become totally smitten with one of my colleagues. And bewilderingly it seemed to be a mutual attraction. Now, old school readers will recall that have often been something of a cad/twat (delete as appropriate) in my dealings with the opposite sex but, on this occasion because of the huge amount of respect I had for my Nice girlfriend, I did the right thing & broke it off with her prior to pursuing any sort of romantic dalliance with my colleague.
Due to the very nature of the work set up my colleague & I had already grown very close over countless conversations while having smoke breaks & several very late night confessionals. There was also a drive to the Suffolk coast with a hour or two stop off spent walking around a wonderfully sunny Cambridge where we both (unspoken at the time but later confessed to) realised there was some very special chemistry going on. In fact that splendid day was only spoilt by having to pick up a surly teenager from his family contact & having to spend the whole journey back biting our lips. Earlier I mentioned that I was bewildered that the attraction was mutual. This wasn't down to my usual self-deprecating outlook, it was because said colleague was most definitely out of my league. She was proper gorgeous, a real life beautiful woman. And not just that very lovely kind of gorgeous that people tend to become when you've developed strong feelings for them. Proper, bona-fide, turn around in the street to look at her beautiful with a wonderful slender body to match. Of course, this was just an extremely welcome bonus as it was who she was that I fell in love with, not what she looked like. After all, there are lots of attractive people out there who are ugly to the core. She was also elegant & classy, funny & clever &, quite crucially, 15 years my junior. Anyway it was only the 2nd time we'd seen each other out of work when on August 15th 2008 Natalie & I went out for a few drinks in Bedford. The next morning we awoke in a hotel room & to all intents & purposes had become a couple overnight. And thus began the most beautifully blissful period of my life. A love markedly different from any I'd felt before (& I've loved a few!). A pure love, a love that wasn't wrong & wasn't hurting anybody else. And most importantly, a love where both parties felt exactly the same way about each other, no discrepancies, no ulterior motives, no insecurities. A love that finally allowed me to truly appreciate the lyrics to the chorus of my favourite ever song- All I ever wanted, all I ever needed is here in my arms.
And then there was the sex. I'll be brief; I've had lots of great sex over the years with several great lovers but, by jiggins, I had no idea how much two people could really enjoy each other. That'll do, feel free to marvel at my restraint or to reach for the sickbags. Your call. The rest of 2008 flew by in a blur of vodka, lust, spur of the moment trips to have mad nights out in different towns & wonderful nights in. Memories now, but I shall cherish them till my dying day. It does seem a very long time ago now. I think I'll take a break there & pick up from the start of 2009 next time.