7 Things about me

As I've been tagged by at least two people I thought I ought to enlighten you about 7 things you might not know about me - none of them are that quirky - although you might think some are when you read them - I'll leave that to you to decide......

1. Third time lucky - Nigel is my third partner (married twice and lived together once). I married when I was a young and impressionable 19, first husband was 25, intellectually and emotionally we were probably similar at that time. I guess over the five years we were married I grew up and he stayed the same. Despite various attempts on my part to make the best of things I realised that we had to part, no children involved to complicate matters and he's since found another partner and has two almost grown up daughters.

Soon after this split I met my second partner and we lived together for almost five years. My philosophy at the time was that if you cared enough about each other you didn't need a piece of paper to prove it. Whilst going through a particularly rocky patch when we were contemplating separation he sadly died following a road traffic accident. The ensuing financial mess because we weren't married and he hadn't made a will made me decide that if I was lucky enough to find another mate he must be prepared to make a real committment and marry me.

Nigel came into my life around a year later and we were married two weeks short of a year after that. He is my best friend and was worth every minute of the waiting. As I said, third time lucky.

2. I almost never had these three. Being totally convinced that I never ever wanted a family, whilst living with my second partner, I was sterilised at 28. I was totally happy with this decision until he died in the accident. Those sort of life-changing events certainly make you look at life a little differently and when I met Nigel I realised that having a good job and plenty of money weren't the be all and end all of life. I was extremely fortunate to be able to have an operation to have the sterilisation reversed and Sarah, Nick and Lou were the wonderful result.

3. In another life, pre-kids, I held down a pretty responsible job with a company that manufactured supermarket chillers and freezers. A boring product maybe but it certainly gave me a very good living for a few years as one of very few females in a very male orientated business. I looked after the company's second and third largest accounts with my order book equating to £4.5 million each year. I had a company car and wore a suit to work, spent time at hospitality functions like golf days and travelled the length and breadth of the UK. This all makes me all the more puzzled why a school office job still has me part beaten even after 8 months in post - maybe I lost my marbles when I was pregnant!

4. I detest the edges of harbours and waterfronts. Not only can I not bring myself to stand near any that are unfenced but I almost have a blue fit if Nigel or the children go near the edge. Even looking a pictures like this makes me shudder. I can swim so shouldn't fear drowning, but it's as if there's a magnetic force pulling me over the edge if I go anywhere near. I'm not even comfortable walking on the opposite edge, say up against a wall - but if there's a fence at the edge it's not a problem at all.

5. I used to bite my fingernails right up to my elbows up until I was about 19. Even now if I'm not busy with my hands, say if I'm reading a book I have my fingers in my mouth and often nibble away. Every so often I do bite them all down until they're sore and then really regret it until they grow back. Yet when I was working before I had the kids they were always so beautifully long and manicured that people would ask if they were false nails - they were always my own and I was immensely proud of them. Sadly now with arthritis in my fingers if I did grow them very long they'd resemble witches talons too much to look glamorous :o(

6. I never ventured out of the UK until the summer after my second partner died. I was 30 before I took this first trip abroad and then took 5 trips in the next 18 months to Gibraltar, Lanzarote, Germany, the USA and finally Bermuda on honeymoon with Nigel. I love to travel abroad given any opportunity and wish we could afford to do more.

7. This one applies to both Nigel and I. We both have (and did have independently even before we met) the ambition to live in a home that wasn't originally built as a house. It doesn't matter what the building was originally - a lighthouse, a barn or even Nigel's favourite a train station. However unless we find something unusual to retire into I can't see it happening for some time as I think we're probably committed to our current abode for the foreseeable future

Gosh haven't I gone on at length? I'm not going to tag anyone else in particular as I think this has probably already caught everyone who wants it to, but if not and you want to enlighten us about your undiscovered depths then consider yourself tagged.