P

Been a while since I did one of my 'girls I used to know' posts!

The day of LiveAid 1985 will always stick in my mind for one reason and one reason only. It was the day that P first slept with me, me with her and her with anyone at all. She wasn't yet 16 as I was not yet 17 and she was a couple of years below me at school. That's only just not 16 though isn't it? so I think I'm ok on that score. And she did want me to of course. Which is alright, isn't it? I have suddenly had a pang of guilt writing this blog.. but you have to know the person and everyone's different aren't they. That'll be my defence in a court of law (which is valid as will be revealed later).

Anyway.. somewhere in between the Coldstream Guards kicking off the shindig in London and Bob and the gang closing with Do They Know It's Christmas, in fact around 16:00 as far as I can remember (which Wikipedia tells me would have been around the time of Bryan Ferry and that makes sense as I'm not a massive fan) I found myself upstairs doing the deed so to speak. I don't remember too much about the exact moment really. To my shame. More a fumble than one for the history books. Well, I was only 17?!

After that I can't even remember what happened next. After sticking around for a while I probably got back on my Yamaha FS1E in my football casual gear (cords split and flared at the bottom with Farah material sewed in, espadrills and a nice adidas top - just the ticket for riding a motorbike in?) and scooted around town with a glow on me face. Being the first should always be an honour.

We had been seeing each other for a while. Mainly consisting of me arriving at her house most evenings and listening to records in her bedroom - the source of many of my favourite 80s albums. A big thank you must be tipped to this girl who was 2 years my junior but with exceptional music taste. Without her I wouldn't know too much about David Sylvian and a whole heap of other alternative/indie type artists.

But I was 17. I was footloose and fancy free with a Yamaha and a mission to get thrown out of sixth form and hang around with people that were known as 'the wrong types'. Strangely the ones that are still around on my facebook list have all turned out very decent people to be honest.

It turned out to be an on-again off-again relationship I had with P from that time and for years forward. We just had impeccably bad timing with each other. To this day I have a space in my heart for her. Only a little one but it is filled with very funny memories. She was a very funny person. Exceptionally bright. Exceptionaly cheeky. Which ensured she could get away with being exceptionally lazy too. A woman after my own heart!

Time washed around for two years or so and we got back together briefly. Just before I moved away to University. Seconds away, round two of bad timing.

Then, I think around four years later I found myself with her again. This time whilst back at my parents house briefly after finishing my first degree. A few weeks and nights really and then I moved to London to study some more. Bad timing. Again.

God knows what happened after that. She moved to London with a guy I used to go to cub scouts with. Weird how life circles. Ended up marrying him. But not before one more attempt. This time I was back in town for Christmas at the bar where all those who lived away congregate when they are back in town together - every place has one. A strange night when she propositioned me to go round the back alley. Such charm. Such style. I didn't. But not for want of wanting to to be honest. At the time I was with someone a great deal less appealing, bright or interesting as P and it would have made great sense to swap out one for the other. But bad timing struck thrice. This was the holiday I ended up beginning my career as a father.

In the end P turned out to become a solicitor in London or some such - hence the rehearsal of my law court defence! Tattooed and with piercings in all the wrong places for your conventional solicitor last time I saw her about ten years ago. Just like her to get away with it. Exceptionally cheeky. But still as bright as the first day I spoke to her.

(afterthought: this text was written 4 months ago and only just published, but now I really must tread carefully as she is a recent new contact on one of my social networking accounts and still working in the broad area of law - however, our brief renewed messages confirm to me that she thought the same about me as I did her and we are both now very happy doing what we do so nobody is any worse off).

This is one story in which I'm happy to report they all lived happily ever after. awww. nice.