The beginning

I have always been a very busy person. All through my teens and twenties, I partied hard and was having the time of my life until I read Bridget Jones' Diary - well what a wake-up call that was! I subsequently read an article in The Evening Standard on the way home from work one evening about the phenomena of increasing numbers of ageing career women, alone and childless in London. The following weekend I remember an article in The Style supplement of The Sunday Times, lamenting the increasing age of first time mothers and decreasing fertility due to oestrogenisation of the environment.

The following Monday, I went straight to WH Smith in Victoria and bought myself a copy of 'The Rules', and decided the party was over, it was time to settle down. This was an environmental disaster I intended to avoid.

I was living at the time in Gainsboro Court on Tollgate Drive in the heart of Dulwich. Miss Kate Bancroft (a barrister) and I rented a wonderful old mansion flat, ate at Michelin stared restaurants, attended every corporate event of the season (Wimbledon, Ascot, Henley, Polo), with dashing eligible men. Increasingly the men who were showing us attention, were married to someone else. I would not ever intentionally date a married man, but Miss Bancroft - enjoyed the title 'Mistress' on more than one occasion.

Shortly after reading 'Men are from Mars' I met James at a charity ball. He was a complete contradiction, - he had kind eyes, but he point blank refused to buy me so much as a drink! I was hooked. When I tried my usual line:

'What do you do?,'

- in order to assess his earning potential - he would not play the game, and told me that he worked in 'Comet' selling printers.

'A noble profession' - I purred through gritted teeth.

I decided to marry him there and then. It was love......