Friends, lend me your ears

Pretending to be some kind of jet-setter (hardly...), I'm writing this on a hotel computer on the outskirts of Bath. Me and my friend Jessica decided that we needed a holiday. Thomas is away for a week with the school, so we're taking advantage of the 'freedom' and sneaking away for a girlie break.

We've done some learning (the tour of the Roman baths), some shopping (natch!) and some snooty tea-taking in the Pump Room - all sandwiches with the crusts cut off and teeny tiny cakes. It's not all been plain sailing, though: English Breakfast or Earl Grey? Decisions, decisions! Oh, and we've only been here a day and we're exhausted already!

So, random musings of the week are as follows:-

1. Thomas is off on his first 'proper' trip away from home, for which he made his own decisions (mostly) about what to pack, and he carried his own bag to the coach. My feelings of excitement at having the week to myself to do whatever I please were minimal. I'm missing him like mad, of course, but I think the 'all growed up' aspect of the trip is what's tugging at my heart-strings. Somehow I feel that he'll come back a different person (in a good way) and that something will be gone. It's hard to put into words, but I know all you parents of grown-up kids will understand. And you parents of little-ones know that the day will come someday. However, I'm hoping that his new-found maturity, which comes with the application of hair gel and deodorant, will also accompany a fondness for bringing his beloved mother a nice cup of tea in bed on a Sunday morning! Yeah, right...!

2. All I'm really looking for in life is a comfortable chair. It's not a lot to ask, surely, but when you're staying in a hotel that doesn't have a single one, it's suddenly the be-all and end-all.

3. When there are four items on the dessert menu, you would expect the waitress to know the difference between the cheeseboard and cheesecake!