A new beginning....

I've been really lucky and been seeing a really sweet guy, and things are going OK.  Not perfect (what relationship is?) but we seem to be getting along OK.

He's been through hell with an ex partner (he was asked to help her get clean - drink related I hasten to add) by her daughter, and he agreed – and this is the tale so far…. 

We were planning on meeting up at the beginning of June, and I got a text from him about two weeks before we were due to meet up, saying that he would have to cancel, as he didn't think things were stable enough with this woman for him to leave her to her own devices.  

OK - I  admit that I was less than impressed, but didn't think too much of it, as I knew he was trying to help her through rehab and make sure that she stayed on the wagon.

That seemed to be going OK; as she was 60 days without a drink he thought that there was light at the end of the tunnel. There was - some b'stard with a flame thrower.  

He got a call from her whilst he was at work, and shot out of his office as he thought her life was in danger (she'd tried to commit suicide several times before).  I didn’t hear from him for a while and thought “Rats to you.  I’m obviously not good enough for you to talk to”.

I then get a text from him a couple of days later, and wasn’t too impressed – I thought it was a bit rich considering he’d not contacted me for a while.  

Then he told me the reason – he’d been arrested and charged with criminal damage for trying to get into the house to make sure that she was OK and hadn’t tried to take an overdose, and as a result of trying to help her, he spent 2 ½ days in there with no way to contact anyone

Needless to say I was stunned with that, and we got talking again and we agreed to reinstate the plans to meet up the beginning of June.  We kept in touch via text and phone (lost count of the time that we spent talking) and he finally plucked the courage to ask me out, so that meant that when we met up it would be a first date. 

I’ve never felt so comfortable with someone – and I was more than happy to be with him, as he was so sweet to be with – showing real concern when my knee cracked and caused me to squeak (and occasionally curse) and making me feel like a princess, as well as making me giggle and feel incredibly relaxed.

He was honest with me about the circumstances he found himself in (his ex had taken him to the cleaners) and that he was facing this charge despite the fact that he thought her life had been in danger.  He kept saying that he shouldn’t have gotten involved and seemed to take small comfort when I pointed out that hindsight was 20/20 vision. 

He admitted that he was worried about this court case, as his ex had made a statement alleging some rather nasty treatment of her and her youngest son, and was worried that I would walk out on him as he felt that her job would go against him in court, and that he wouldn’t be believed when he tried to tell the court what actually happened.

I will admit I did have doubts (not helped by someone who claimed to be a friend (or in this case fiend)) and when I went away on holiday, I will admit to spending quite a bit of time on my knees in prayer in the cathedral asking for help for the man that I love.

When I got back, I will admit it was a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I was only too glad to see him again.  Yes, we still had the court case hanging over our relationship, but there was no way that I was going to walk away from someone who was making me so happy.

The day of the court case came, and I had made arrangements to meet up with my partner, as he didn’t want to be in the area after the case, and said that if I’d not heard from him by 17:00, then it had gone badly wrong.

I left the office at 16:00, and driving to where we were staying overnight, I ended up having to turn off the touchscreen, as I kept looking at the clock and was getting more and more worried the closer the time got to 17:00 – with no contact.

Murphy’s Law states that if it can go wrong, it does, and in this case, it was my mobile network that gave me the problems.  Because I was travelling the back route to our overnight location, my phone signal was somewhat intermittent, meaning that my dratted phone rang once and then cut out.

I managed to stop and see who had called me – it was my partner.  So, as I have Bluetooth on the car, I tried to call him back – and the damn network either wouldn’t connect, or would drop the call - before I manage to speak to him.  When I did manage to get the call to connect, his line was engaged, and his voice mail didn’t kick in, meaning that I was left fearing the worst.

I got a text just after I arrived at our accommodation asking me to call him.  I will admit that I feared the worst and called him back.  Only to nearly drop my phone when I heard him say that he was not guilty – it was the verdict that everyone had been telling him to expect, but the statement that his ex and her son had made could have made life so difficult for him.

I will admit that I was shaking by the time I got to the room, and was only too happy when my partner finally arrived. We decamped to the pub, and he told me what happened in court.  I won’t elaborate on what happened, but all I will say is that the solicitor was worth his weight in platinum (or printer ink – that’s far more expensive!)

I won’t say that it was the most restful night’s sleep I’ve had – (and no – it wasn’t for those reasons) but more because it was damned hot and my partner was somewhat wound up from the court case (with good reason!)

So, we muddled along and we had a weekend away booked for Worcester (Henwick House). It was really good – the scenery was delightful, and the memory that sticks with me from that was watching a pair of green woodpeckers on the grass about 20 feet away from our bedroom window and also watching the rabbits frolic on the grass at the top end of the garden.

The local pub - The Blue Bell  was really good.  The beer was a good price, and the food?  Well put it like this.  There were no complaints from either my partner (who is a foodie by his own admission) or myself.

On the Friday night, we opted to have the pie of the day – which was Steak and Ale.  I opted for mash and mushy peas, where as my partner opted for mash and ordinary peas (he’s not a mushy pea fan apparently!)

Put it this way.  The pie was more filling than pastry (a really nice surprise) and very tasty. 

Image from the Blue Bell website

We headed into Worcester on Saturday.  Neither of us realised that there was a food festival on, and we decided a look around once we’d been to the Royal Worcester porcelain museum and the Cathedral.

I won’t say that it was massive – busy, yes.  And expensive.  I seem to recall one stand charging something like £9 for a burger, where other stands were charging £3.  I still smile when I think of the comment of one local woman “what makes them think that people are going to pay that for a burger?  What’s it got in it?  Gold flakes?”  But there were plenty of people buying the burgers!

The only downside to Worcester as a destination is the parking.  It’s expensive.  And for some reason (known only to the county council) they have stopped the park and ride.  

Meaning that you have to struggle to get parked in one of the multi-storey car parks, and pay a stupid amount for the privilege of being crammed into a tiny parking space and stuck in traffic. 

Now I don’t have anything against public transport, but coming in from a rural location (Callow End), the public transport leaves a lot to be desired.  So the only option for visitors like us was to drive into the centre. 

Aside from that grump, my other grump is about Great Malvern.  Now you say Malvern to most people, and they instantly think Morgan cars (OK – I do), little tourist places and lots of little antique shops to peruse.

Now I won’t say that the scenery isn’t spectacular – it is.  What was disappointing was the lack of places to visit on a Sunday.  Now had I been there in the depths of winter (end January) I would have expected it to be all closed up.  But the end of July?  Something (or someone) is seriously missing a trick.

There were plenty of people walking about, and vey few things for them to do.  OK – we visited the Malvern museum, which is located in the abbey gate house:

We also visited the beautiful Malvern Priory:

Put it this way - if this is a Priory, then some cathedrals need to start worrying.

Ah well, guess I should call it quits, I do need to get some sleep...

Karen

Hold on, there's a new way a-coming
Looks like it's arriving tonight
There's no more hiding or running
There's no more walking on ice