Firsts...

Well, since getting married, I've managed to encounter a number of 'firsts'. I've had my first filling (discovered a hole in my tooth the hard way when trying to pick out the pip that had got stuck - the pin went right through...) I was recommended a dental surgery round the corner from us, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that they were still taking on NHS patients. I registered on the Friday, had my appointment on the Monday, and had the follow up appointment to actually have the filling the Monday after. Very impressed.

I’ve managed to lock someone into a building for the first time (locked myself out plenty of times!) – in this case, John. Our flat doors are completely key operated – they don’t slam shut behind you meaning that you lock yourself out by mistake. However, this time, I managed to take both my keys and John’s to work, and, as John is not dedicated enough to the company that sucks the life force from him, he wasn’t willing to contemplate climbing out of a window to go to work (not only that, but leaving a window open would have been an obvious temptation to burglars…

And, my very big first – I’ve had my first multiple vehicle car accident. I’ve been in a couple of cars that have had single vehicle accidents before; when I was 11, a sliding Yellow Pages meant that my father drove into a lamp post, and a couple of years ago, our bonnet flew open on the motorway, smashing the windscreen. However, this was the first when I was driving, and the first when I was alone in the car. I’m not going to beat about the bush – I was in the wrong. I was tired (the accident happened at about 9.50), I’d got lost in an unfamiliar part of Bristol, and I was not concentrating as much as I should have been. I ended up pulling out in front of someone, and hitting them on the passenger side door. Fortunately, although both myself and the driver in the other car were shaken up, neither of us were hurt at all. The cars, however, were a different matter. Whilst her car managed to get away with a dent on the passenger side, and a burst tire from where she swerved onto the pavement, our little Punto ended up with a stove-in bonnet, passenger side lights smashed, and, fatally, a broken radiator, that leaked water everywhere. The upshot of this is that the car is on the verge of being written off (we are waiting for the insurance assessor to finish his report).

The one thing that struck me about the whole thing was how many people there are who will go out of their way to help. Within a minute of the accident, a number of the householders around had come out to see if there was anything they could do. They offered advice (including what details to swop – my brain had gone into shut down, and I really didn’t know), checked that we were both ok, and one incredibly kind gentlemen (retired paramedic) offered the use of his front room whilst I was waiting for the recovery vehicle (and he was very persistent about it – I didn’t want to impose on him and his wife, particularly given that it was now half past 10, and the breakdown vehicle wasn’t going to arrive till half 11. The third time he asked, I accepted!), and brought me out a glass of water whilst I was waiting on the phone. Even the parents of the person I hit were amazing – the mother going as far as giving me a hug when I got overwrought – something you don’t expect when you have just hit their daughter’s car!

So, for the first time since we both moved to Bristol, we are car-less. It is amazing how much you rely on motor transport – neither of us cycle. The public transport round Bradley Stoke, whilst acceptable during rush hour (I get the train to work in the city centre), is appalling at weekends (the regular buses around our house stop running at 6 pm in any direction on a Saturday, and hardly anything runs on a Sunday), which makes doing the shopping very difficult (and I am incredibly reluctant to shop online. However, with delivery being £5, which is the same cost as getting the two of us to Sainsbury’s and back, I might think about it!) The hardest thing (on my part – I think John is not too happy about having to walk to work every day rather than going five minutes round the corner!) is not being able to get to orchestra – I find that I rely a lot on the relaxation that comes from playing as a group, and not being able to go, even for a couple of weeks, has left me feeling a bit empty.

But the one thing that we have not had, in the midst of all of this disruption and destruction. We have not had our first row. John has been amazing through all of this – he has not shouted, he has not sulked, and he hasn’t even blamed me. He has been upset, obviously, but he has not taken anything out on me, even though I deserve it. I couldn’t ask for a better husband.

In other news, I'm going to be taking part in NaNoWriMo - I am going to try to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. This means that I might not be posting as much as I should, though I'm sure I'll be able to post some story updates on here :-)