Lucky *

As birthdays go, the one I have just had was way up there with the best. In fact, it has to be considered the best - for so many reasons.

Well, I think it was better than the birthday I had when out for a meal and lots and lots of drinks with some old friends and I was drunkenly banging on and on about the creative genius of Nick Cave and, in particular, the brilliance of his album The First Born Is Dead and, as well as the music being superb, the title was also rather fantastic. That one of my friends had a miscarraige the month before after a few years of trying for her first baby did not make my drunken ramblings go down to well. But did I shut up? No, I kept on and on and on - what a tosser. And how bad I felt the next day when the evening's topic of conversation came crashing into my hangover!

I would also have to say that my recent birthday was rather better than the birthday I had when my ex and I realised finally that all the romantic spark which was once there was now doused for good.

So, yes, no exaggeration whatsoever to say that I have just had an amazingly brilliant few days. First up last Thursday was meal out with a few people from work here, which always ranks as a great venue for me. There are not many places in central London where you can have two courses, plenty of wine, after-dinner coffee and a glass of amaretto for twenty quid, are there? The waiters are friendly, as is the owner, who always makes an effort to come round the tables and chats to the regulars. A lovely, lovely evening. Made all the more lovely as JJ was sat next to me throughout - and then by my side for the next three wonderful and happy days.

Friday, we had a walk through the rather bland (well, it is autum) Green Park, walked past Buckingham Palace and were awed by the splendour of the architecture and appalled at what this building represents and then had a stroll through St James' Park. That worked up a thirst and on to the Weatherspoon's pub next to the Trafalgar Studios theatre in Whitehall - like Mondello's, not many places give value for money like this pub (£3.99 for a large glass of Villa Maria sauvignon blanc - very tasty! And £1.89 for a pint of a whole host of real ales on offer).

After dinner, we settled down to watch Last Days of Disco - don't know why, but this is one of my favourite films of all time. Maybe it is the fantastic soundtrack or maybe the excellent script. But, whatever, a great film.

Saturday saw us meeting up with Lisa and Neil for a great chat, a great beer and some great nachos - a fitting way to spend a Saturday lunchtime, I would say. After a relaxing stroll through town with a few stops off for drinks (well, we were working up a thirst) it was then a bit of a rush to get home, have dinner and pick up the boy and his mate for a night at the Bush Hall to see Let's Zep, who are, believe it or not, a tribute to .... well, don't need me to tell you. They were utterly brilliant, the singer was Robert Plant, the guitarist was Jimmy Page and, as for the other two, well, who has ever bothered about the rhythm section in a band, eh?? They must have played a two-hour set and the highlight for me was seeing the boy and his mate headbanging in front of the stage - how sweet! No, wait, that was definitely not the highlight of the night, cos that accolade goes to our meeting up with the boy's mum on the Underground. I suppose it could have been a lot worse, considering that she was seeing her ex and her boy ready to have a fantastic night out with ex's fantastic new friend and partner. And she did tell me last night that she thought that JJ was "really nice." So happy faces all round!

Which brings me back to why the past few days were so fantastic. The idea that on my last birthday I would be spending the next one with such a person as JJ would have had me laughing it off as a joke. That someone has come into my life and made me so incredibly happy and so looking forward to every moment I spend with her is a pretty amazing feeling. And it makes me so lucky.

*Radiohead