A New Life

Two new lives actually. One literal and one figurative.

First, the literal one: congratulations to our good friends Jamie and Lise, whose son Isaac Dylan was born just before midnight on September 11! Well done all three of you - we'll be popping over shortly to poke him with spoons.

Second, the figurative one. Nat finally texted me sometime this morning to arrange to come over for lunch. The call of the crumpets was irresistible, especially since the hall she's in is only catered during the week and she has to fend for herself over the weekend. She'd been chillin' Friday night with her new friends in hall who all sound really nice. I was so very pleased that her first night in hall hadn't been as desperate as mine.

After my Mum & Dad dropped me off the Sunday before Fresher's Week, I'd soon discovered I was the only one on my floor and spent a very cold and lonely night bored out of my skull. There were no laptops in those days, naturally, no Internet, the hall didn't have a TV room and it was fully catered, so there wasn't even a kitchen where I could make myself a piece of toast.

I contrast, Natalie's floor sounds as though it was almost fully populated with three of the girls on her corridor in residence, and they spent the evening getting to know each other and watching the telly. When I took her back in the evening I popped in to have a look at her room. Although every bit as spartan as student rooms always are right at the beginning of term before whoever lives there has had a chance to personalise them, it is a nice size, has its own sink and the usual bed, desk, wardrobe and comfy chair (upon which, if student standards are followed, there will soon build up a pile of dirty laundry ;o)). The hall is in a quiet leafy lane, has a swipe card on the door and individual locks on the bedrooms and is quite secure enough to allay a Dad's fears. There's a warden in residence too, who insists on being called Norman, apparently.

During the day, I broke out my old student posters intending to offer them up for sacrifice. They're all at least 30 years old, so I was fully expecting Nat to decline my offer, although I thought at least they would cover the bare walls for a bit until she found something more to her taste. Her reaction was a real surprise. A pleasant one. "Wow!! Those are SO COOL!!"

I'd forgotten that thirty years was long enough for them to become cool in a retro kind of way. So my Roger Dean flying elephant and various insectoid invaders have found a new home and at least one of Natalie's new neighbours is quite jealous of her new wall coverings. Funny old world, in't it?