Honey not so over the Moon

I’ve mentioned in previous posts that my first marriage ended in divorce.
Just one of those things, but a mistake on both parts.
Reading something today triggered a memory from that relationship which may or may not amuse, and may or may not put the guys’ backs up.When my Ex and I got engaged, he very romantically put the ring on my finger to Justin Hayward and John Lodge’s Blue Jays, track 5 (Nights, Winters, Years) .
As the music built to that final crescendo, the sapphire and diamond cluster slipped over my knuckle. The timing was perfect. A beautiful moment.

It was not uncommon for people to go away for an illicit ‘dirty weekend’ (they probably still do come to think of it) . We went away for a dirty fortnight in a caravan. It was 1976, one of the hottest summers on record. Kiki Dee and Elton John were top of the charts with Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, and it was on the radio ALL THE TIME .
Was it an omen of things to come?

I so remember those pink dungarees

Our holiday was quite an eye opener. We had plenty of practice at……… “in sickness and in health” as I had toothache for the first week, and ended up having to make an emergency appointment. The anesthetic didn’t wear off for hours so I was able to catch up on some very much needed sleep.
The second week was the healthy bit, as we both discovered we had a healthy appetite for ………jigsaw puzzles. That second week we did 5, and before we knew it, the fortnight was over, and we were back in our respective parental homes.

We got married the following year. We had a lovely day, the only sunny Saturday that month actually. We hid the car so that no-one would trash it with all the newly wed paraphernalia (actually one of our biggest regrets) and when anyone asked where we were going for our wedding night, we smiled sweetly and kept quiet.
Coming out of the reception in my ‘going away’ outfit, a cheap but smart off the peg blue dress with white piping, and both of us wearing shiny new rings, we were given the Arch of Honour by our guests and as they snaked to the left out of the door we ran off to the right.
We actually spent our first night as Mr and Mrs in our new house.
It was “interesting”.
We spent over an hour taking the pins out of my hair, then another trying to get all the backcombing out. Ow, ow, OW!Anyway, we set off very early the following morning for our honeymoon in Cornwall.
By the time we got there, I had a sun tan. On my left arm, three inches above and below my elbow. It had been so hot, I’d rested my arm on the open window and cooked it as we drove along.
Looking a little like a one sided anemic liquorice allsort, we checked into our hotel.
Our room was lovely. Not many had en-suites in those days, so it was the use of the bathroom down the hall, but we had a nice big bed, loads of pillows, a TV and tea making facilities, with biscuits.
We had a view over the bay and the garden, and on the little terrace outside our window there were a couple of loungers, just right for relaxing in the afternoon sun.

We spent the first few days looking at the local sights, and our nights……..reading. Or at least I did, as he watched TV.
Colour.  A novelty, and we hadn’t bought one yet.
In the six days we were away, I’m afraid I read five paperbacks. All of them horror stories.

I could say we had all of our lives for ‘the other stuff’.
I could make excuses that he was watching sport on TV.
I could say……. a lot of things.
It was not a good start to our life together. Which was pretty short.
They say things settle down after the honeymoon. Ours never took off to settle down.

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