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Wednesday 27 June 2007

Power

When I had first left home and lived in student halls on Denmark Hill, I roomed next door to Geraint - the most handsome boy I had ever laid eyes on. Just standing next to Geraint in the breakfast queue made my ovaries pound and my legs turn to jelly. He had no neck and dragged his knuckles on the floor when he walked, his voice was deep and authoritative. I have always had a soft spot for the neanderthal rugger look.

Geraint had a very rich tycoon type daddy and I soon realised what a lovely but very lazy boy he was. Geraint had no real incentive to get out of bed in the morning, daddy had done all of the hard work making a fortune for the whole family to enjoy.

Within a couple of days of our introduction, Geraint invited me to Le Gavroche in town for dinner. I was over the moon, this was to be my first ever visit to a Michelin rated restaurant, and considering the fact that most university students survived on a diet of rice and tinned tuna fish - this was indeed a welcome feast. I seem to remember I purchased myself a new Wonderbra specially for the occasion (look it was the late 80's).

We dined a la carte, Geraint confidently selected a lovely bottle of wine from the salubrious wine list, and when the bill arrived he spoiled the luxurious treat by instructing the waiter to put it on his fathers tab! The waiter informed Geraint that his father was upstairs in the private dining room and asked us if we would like to join him, to which Geraint calmly replied; "My mother thinks he is in Hong Kong, if father is upstairs, we shall be ordering liquors." I was completely horrified. How very mercenary Geraint was.

Geraint informed me that King Solomon himself had a great many wives, and further described to me how women found powerful men irresistibly attractive. My romantic fascination with this boy instantly faded, he had no drive or even self respect, content simply to live on handouts and bribes extorted from his father.

Should the wives of powerful men really be expected to share their affections? Isn't this whole concept terribly tragic?

Geraint's father really is a complete dish...

23 comments:

The Good Woman said...

Personally, I find the whole 'married man on the side' -not unlike the Wonderbra - very 80s.

dulwichmum said...

Darling The Good Woman,

I completely agree, another woman's husband is exactly that!

DM

Frog in the Field said...

His wife may have been really rather glad he pretended to be in Hong Kong. If I had a husband and son like that I'd be delighted they were elsewhere!
Feeling a mean tonight, can you tell?

Pig in the Kitchen said...

As long as your man is giving you regular rides on his big chopper (sorry Drunk Mummy did make me laugh), you probably don't need to worry?!
Pigx

lady macleod said...

When my husband and I lived in Paris one of our dear friends was a woman who had been in the French Underground during WWII and after the war ran the most exclusive and expensive brothel in Paris. She told me, "Women who marry for money, earn every franc." I have seen quite a few examples of this since and I think she was quite right.

I am pleased you have hubby and his big chopper (really, that is just never going to get old)

East of Dulwich said...

If I remember my Old Testament correctly, King Solomon also had unsurpassed wisdom, something which this young man seems to have lacked...or else he would have never blown his chances so ineptly. I'd say you had a lucky escape. I've been told that there's nothing more sexy for a woman than a huge intellect -- or maybe that's just a myth made up by men who are neither wealthy nor beautiful.

Catherine said...

This is a bit too close to the bone, but no, no-one should live like that. Not for anything or anyone.

Anonymous said...

A luck escape dear girl. Like father, like son. What a miserable life to have married one and laboured to produce the other.

Frog in the Field said...

I seem to have missed the chopper bit, I'll have to re-read some bits I think!
My husband has a splendid chopper too. It helps to keep us warm at night. Of course I have no control over it at all and leave all that sort of thing to my hunky husband.
No mods cons here, just the good old fashioned woodburner.

dulwichmum said...

Dear Frog in the Field,

You know I think you may have a point!

Darling Pig in the kitchen,

do pass the smelling salts dear heart, whatever are you implying?

Oh lovely Lady MacLeod,

What a wonderful quote.

Welcome back lovely East of Dulwich,

I must admit an enormous intellect has never rung my bell!

Marianne Sweetie,

Words of wisdom, you are so right.

Dear Sweet Clara,

How very well put! I wish I had thought of that...

Stay at home dad said...

Were you at King's, DM?

dulwichmum said...

Darling Stay at home dad!

Are you Geriant???

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

I full intend to wear my strapless wonderbra to the race tomorrow!!

dulwichmum said...

Oh M&M,

Knock yourself out!!!

I don't wear mine for fear of making James unpleasantly friskey!

Drunk Mummy said...

Dear DM, given how freakishly hideous many powerful men are, I would imagine that their wives would be rather relieved to share the burden of their husband's 'affections'. It's when they are required to share their husband's salary that the knives really come out.

dulwichmum said...

Drunk Mummy!

Here endeth the lesson!

beta mum said...

I spent my first year at college living in those halls on Denmark Hill - no tycoon sons for me though.
Just lots of dentists bearing boxes with skulls in them on the number 68 bus.
Very unappealing. They do make money when they're older, but I didn't realise that at the time.

Stay at home dad said...

No Dulwich Mum. I had my moment on the wing but you would be hard-pressed to describe my appearance as rugby neanderthal.

Anyway, I was in the halls on the King's Road. Are you mad?!

Natural Blonde said...

I find it pretty sad and distasteful, but then it’s always hard to judge the inside of someone else’s marriage from the outside. Marrying for love is a relatively new phenomenon though, isn’t it? I guess lots of people marry for money, stability, children, out of loneliness, because they were asked, for passports, for lust; for all sorts of reasons, where love is not the driving factor and who are we to judge? Infidelity is just one of the myriad of ways that married couples can make each other miserable!

Gosh, that sounds all very cynical, doesn’t it?

Maybe your man learnt the art of extracting bribes from his father from his mother?

No, I don’t think the wives of powerful men should always be expected to share their affections as powerful men are not a homogenous group. But I think it is unwise to be naïve about the psychology of what drives someone to power and the role you may be relegated to in their life. But that’s all a rather hard headed analysis that is benefiting from not being mixed up with love, desire, charisma and excitement…all of which can blur the senses!

dulwichmum said...

Lovely Beta Mum,

Wouldn't it be funny if we knew eachother?

Dear Stay at home dad,

So you went to Kings too? If I had been able to choose - it would have been The Kings Road for me too, but my mother wanted me as close as possible (in case I got in with the wrong sort).

Lovely Natural Blonde,

I think life is making me very cynical lately...

debio said...

It is hard to make a categoric and accurate definition of marriage. Who decided that to marry for love is the ideal? And love is different for different people.
I try not to view marrying for money as akin to dancing with the devil; nor is marrying for love any safeguard against infidelity or unhappiness.
But if you marry for money then it is obviously very important and extracting the money from rich hubby is going to require all sorts of manoeuvring.
The saddest aspect, it seems to me, is the lack of respect it engenders which is, all too often, passed on to the children.

dulwichmum said...

Gosh Debio,

You are so realistic and entirely sensible. I am sure I should holiday in The Land of Sand very soon - to sit at your feet and learn.

DM

Zoal said...

No rugby neaderthal types in my time...though cant say that i would have noticed! Having said that even if there were I probably wouldn't have turned down a decent meal given the stuff that was churned out and called dinner/lunch/breakfast!!!

Your little one must be looking forward to 'Jallops' - I cant say I am!!(have you READ the rules book???

tc