The drive to Heathrow airport never takes as long as I expect it to. I think of London as being a long way away, but it actually takes less than three hours to get there from Herefordshire, and what with the airport being located just off the M4 there’s not much in the way of traffic to deal with.

Whilst I object to the expansion of UK airports, I couldn’t help but be impressed by Heathrow’s new terminal 5. It was only a one-minute walk from the car to the arrivals gate, and no chance of getting lost.

I arrived at exactly the same time that *Twinkle*s flight touched down; the display told me that that the bags were arriving in the terminal within ten minutes, and 20 minutes after that Japanese businessmen, students and families started to emerge from behind the automatic doors. Any moment now, *Twinkle* would show up.

I must admit I was pretty excited …excited and nervous. I sensed that *Twinkle* had changed quite a bit since I had last seen her, and consequently some aspects of our relationship were an unknown.

And then there she was.

It was a bit funny at first. I’m not sure how to describe it. A bit surreal. We weren’t sure what to make of one another.

But that was before we spent no less than twenty minutes trying to find the car in the huge multi-storey car park. In my excitement I’d forgotten to make a note of where I’d parked, and not knowing my parents’ registration number I couldn’t use the Car Finder machine (the car park has thousands of cameras pointing at every single number plate). Thus, *Twinkle* and I has to visit every single level, before finally locating it on the 3rd.

That reassured *Twinkle* that I was as silly as ever, and it wasn’t long after that that we got back in the groove.

It is soooo good to be with her again. These are really very happy days.

During our six months apart, our conversations were often restricted to ‘issues’ or ‘problems’; with limited talk-time these would naturally take precedence over idol chit-chat and the sharing of niceties, consequently turning the relationship into something that revolved around serious and meaningful ‘stuff’. Now back together, I’m surprised and delighted by how nice it is to just ‘be’ together, to share silly moments or our appreciation of a beautiful view, to make fun of one another, to smile, to be kind to one another, to comfort one another with a hug.

(there’s the real physical stuff too, which I shan’t bore you with. But I’m grinning as I type this!)

All of these things have been lacking since January, and our memories of them couldn’t help but become clouded by the passage of time, the separation, and the dominance of seriousness. Rediscovering the sheer joy of just being in her presence, knowing that she is close by, is just great.

Bridesmaids at Catherine and Stewart’s wedding

We’ve had a really fun 5 days together so far.

On Friday we attended Catherine and Stewart’s wedding, Catherine being a dear friend whom I first met at the Waldorf School, many many years ago.

The venue was the beautiful Walcot Hall, a lovely stately home set in the gorgeous Shropshire countryside.

I was so nervous as Catherine came down the aisle – partly because I knew that in exactly a week from then it would be *Twinkle* doing the very same thing. All those people watching, such an important event, but then I saw her smiling and laughing as she kind of made fun of herself, and I relaxed. I need to remember this for next week I thought. Don’t be too serious!

The civil ceremony was lovely, and had some good comical bits to help set everyone at ease. Catherine looked absolutely stunning, and what a bloomin’ nice chap Stewart is.

The reception was great too. Initially I felt a little out of place, but within an hour or so friendships were forming – and food was on the table (delicious).

At one point, *Twinkle* and I went for a dance in the pitch black garden – that was rather amusing, especially when it suddenly poured down with rain drenching us both!

It was pretty late when we left. Our accommodation for the night was a little two-man tent in a field at the bottom of the drive, and very comfy it was too. The perfect end to a perfect day.