The Land of beginning again

On Friday out of the blue Stan's friend PT arrived. He does this intermittently, arriving unannounced on his way to collect his adult daughter and grandson to take back to Wales for a visit. PT is always very welcome and we always find a bed for him. He is after all Stan's oldest best friend. It broke Stan's heart when PT and his family decided to move from Sussex to Wales 3 years ago. Stan and PT had been inseparable for the past 30 years, originally working together, then later sharing a workshop doing cars together every weekend.

The photo is of Stan's Vitesse that he has had for 33 years, PT has a red one which he has had for same length of time!

Every Wednesday and Sunday evening they would meet and go down the pub. It is through PT and his wife JT that Stan and I got together. I have eluded to that story a few months back when I told the story of match making Tom & Mandy.

I met Stan as I was JT's bridesmaid and Stan was PT's Best man, once they were married PT was determined that Stan should get married too, so on New Years Eve of that same year after thri wedding, we were all at a party celebrating the New Year, when suddenly PT leaned across to Stan and said " Have you asked her to marry you yet?" To which he replied "No, not yet" and PT said "well are you going to?" and Stan said "Er, yes, I s'ppose so", then PT learnt over to me and said "Stan 's got something to say......" to which Stan shifted slightly in his seat, he was rather drunk and leant over to me and said " Er Well Will you marry me?". I was to say the least dumbfounded, but rather stupidly , as I should have given it a lot of thought said "Yes".

PT jumps up and shouts to the bar man, "These 2 have just got engaged!!", The Bar man hurried over with a bottle of Champagne, Then they started playing some music and wanted us to dance, and join in with some game.Suddenly Stan was gone.........................................................

You would have thought he could stay to celebrate his own engagement but no, it was all too much, he drove off into the night and didn't come back for several hours.

I was beside myself with worry, he'd been drinking and could have had an accident. But he did eventually come back and I wondered if it had all been a dreadful mistake. He wasn't ready to propose, he only did it because of PT. But in the cold light of day we talked it through and agreed it was what we both wanted. We married 13 months later, tried for Valentines day but had to make do with 21 February! It was a very small wedding because Stan couldn't face a big do with lots of people looking at him, so closest family and PT & JT that was all.

PT & JT are making a good life for themselves in Wales. Just a little plug for them: They are Spiritualists and they run a Ghost Investigation Team, there is a website www.ghostinvestigationteam.com , but they also now they have a little shop selling spiritual things, figurines of angels, fairy things, Native American things. The shop is in the grounds of a Retreat in the middle of Wales. Any of you Welsh Purple cooers heard of it? www.hafanycoed.com

"The Land of beginning again" It is a Retreat and Residential Awareness centre , where courses are run, but you can just visit to go to the Cafe and shops.

So PT turning up on Friday was a surprise but a great joy, PT & Stan were able to go out to the pub together like old times. Saturdays without PT have not the same feel for Stan, he does his cars but without the old enthusiasm that was there when he and PT did them together.