Categories: uncategorized
Date: 30 November 2007 17:08:32
God definitely has a sense of humour, albeit a bit twisted at times. That's why I like him.
I needed a job. My redundancy money had run out and I was up to the limit on my overdraft. In the pub one night, I was tallking to B, a brash Geordie who had recently started work in the area. He was site foreman on the building site a of new wing at the local hospital and was responsible for the installation of the Medical Gas system. He was looking for a labourer and offered me the job.
I still didn't know what I wanted to do, but was pretty clear in my own mind that this definitely wasn't what I wanted to do. Besides, I'd signed on with an agency who had offered me a temp job working in a call centre.
I lasted about 3 days there. Not only was the money appalling (£5 p/h) but it was perhaps the most boring job I'd ever done. I was the sort of job wher I'd look at my watch and then, half an hour later, look at my watch again only to discover with dismay that in fact only 5 minutes had passed, so I phoned B and asked if the job waqs still available. "Aye" he replied, "Ye can start the morra if ye wunt" (It's hard trying to type in a Geordie accent)
Working on a construction site was much more enjoyable than working in a call centre and the pay was better too. OK, so I would get absolutely filthy, but nothing a shower couldn't fix. Besides, having worked as a shiny arse in an office for so long, I'd put on far too much weight. Having an active job like this meant I lost a lot of weight without even trying. One day while unloading a truck, I remember thinking to myself "Who needs a gym when I can do this and get paid for it as well?" Sadly, all that weight has returned recently.
God had kept his side of the deal and helped me find a job. Not the job I ideally wanted, but that's what happens when you don't make specific requests. I now had to keep my side.
By this time, Tina had found a job in London and moved up here, so we saw each other every day. There was a Ship of Fools weekend planned in North Wales for late July and, as we'd met through the Ship, that seemed an appropriate occasion to pop the question.
I had seen two rings in the window of the jewellers shop that were within my price range, both of which I liked, so realised I'd have to choose which one to buy. I wasn't able to buy the ring until the day we were due to travel up to North Wales, as that was the only time I knew I'd be able to afford it.
We had booked the train tickets for sometime in the middle of the afternoon on the Friday. I had arranged to leave work at mid-day, as that would have benn exactly half a day, so easier for my wages to be worked out. As we were busy at the time, B asked me if I could stay an extra hour until 1.00 and in return he'd pay me for a full day. I knew it would be a bit of a rush to get everything done in time, but worked out that if I hurried, I could perform all my tasks and still get to Kings Cross in time to catch the train.
I got home from work, had a quick shower and put some clean clothes on. It was a glorious, hot summer day, so I wore shorts and a tee shirt. I hurriedly threw a change of clothes and washing equipment in a bag and set off for the jewellers. When I arrived, one of the rings I'd had my eye on had already been sold, so that made the decision somewhat easier! I paid for the ring and kept the receipt "just in case".
At Kings Cross, I met Tina and JonM, another friend from the ship and we travelled together to Chester, where we were met by Lev who drove us the rest of the way. I had to figure out the best point of the weekend to propose. Friday evening was obviously out, as we were all knackered and there was lots of catching up to do with other shipmates. Sunday was out too, as we'd all be busy getting ready to go home, so it would have to be at some point on Saturday.
The Saturday was cold and wet. In my rush to pack the previous day I'd forgotten to pack jeans, jumpers or a coat. There were loads of people there and we all went out together for the day. Late in the afternoon, Tina & I managed to get some time to ourselves and went for a walk, so at the foot of Mount Snowdon, in the pissing rain, wearing tee shirt and shorts, I went down on one knee and proposed. I really don't remember much about it. I remember saying something like "bear with me, I've never done this before" but after that, it's all a bit of a blur. Considering the fact that we're now married, I can only assume that she said "yes" .