Treasured gift:

Back in '75, 2 guys I'd known from the year above me at school moved into the basement flat below us. They and some friends had just returned from a couple of years' travelling, culminating with a stay in Australia to where they'd vowed to return permanently. They soon became close pals of ours, with us spending much time downstairs with them, and they upstairs with us - along with other friends living nearby. A real communal feel to our lives. And so it remained for several years until they eventually emigrated to Australia just as they'd intended. We still keep in touch today. One of them was Trud, who I spoke of in my Manhole blip on the 4th of this month. The other, Chris ( who I thought very yummy and with whom I had a great chemistry, a fact acknowledged thankfully with humour by my hubby Brian!) had brought back with him a Batik from Bali which hung on the wall of their flat. I always adored that Batik. So when Chris finally departed to antipodean climes he gave me that Batik as a present, which I found quite touching as I knew he thought a lot of it himself. After much searching I managed to find a suitable heavily carved wood frame for it, and it's hung on our living room wall since. What's so nice too, is that in 2004 the phone rang - it was Chris (by now with a strong Aussie accent!). He and his wife & son were coming over to England for a big family get-together for the parents' Golden Wedding. They'd be here for 10 days, and any chance we could put them up overnight so they could come up to see us? We could only accomodate 2, so Bernadette stayed at Chris' sisters while Chris and his son Patrick paid us a visit. It was the first time we'd seen him since the start of the 80s. As soon as they walked into our living room and his eyes settled on the Batik, Chris gave a beaming smile, expressed delight that we still had it, and said how much seeing it reminded him of those years at Orwell Terrace and what brilliant times we'd all had. Apart from most of his once longish, thick blonde hair now having vanished, he hadn't changed an awful lot to look at and certainly was no different in himself. And he reckoned I'd not changed at all, stunning etc he said (typical man, they always say that sort of flannel don't they! lol). And yes, the chemistry was still there just as before - I guess some sparks can't be extinguished.
But Chris was right, that Batik holds memories of a fantastic period in our lives.
Here's me and Chris (who as ever just couldn't play it straight), and then me, Bri and Chris , finally Bri on his own, my loving, considerate, fun-loving hubby with whom I shared 37 years of my life. Those are digital snaps of old ones, so not the greatest quality!