First Things First

Book of the Week: Queen Camilla by Sue Townsend

This is going to be a quickie because there’s quite a bit to do this weekend, and I want to get something in for May (myself and the month) – just a few hours of it left.

But suffice it to say that there have been quite a few double firsts scored. On April 5 I went for my first car boot sale, where I was also a first-time vendor. It was in the next village on, and we sold about £60 worth of stuff (mostly DVDs Gareth didn’t want any more – the Cambodian scarves and wraps and whatnots I was hoping to sell were probably just too posh for a car boot sale anyway).

On April 10, Gareth and I hosted our first dinner party. OK, so there were only two guests (Andrew and Laura from work), but it was a dinner party nevertheless. I made our favourite party piece, spag bol, the night before, and it was lovely and infused with that lovely slight sourness you get from tomatoes when the time to serve it up came around. Gareth made his gorgeous rice pudding. A good time was had by all, which only makes me think we really should have guests over for dinner more often.

Then on April 12, we dog-sat Kes while Eddie, Barry and Phil went down to Blackpool for a day trip (nearly three hours down and three hours back up again – if it were me I’d want to stay overnight, but then again it is Blackpool, I suppose). Of course, the first thing Kes did in the flat was have a pee – first time I’ve had to clean that off the carpet – and when we took her out for a walk, it was the first time I had to pick up after a dog using a council poop polybag.

But the big kahuna for me was the long-awaited trip to Cairo, from May 16 to 24. It was a first on so many levels. Egypt was probably the first country and civilisation to register on my consciousness, and to finally go there was just mind-blowing. I was having mental boings all week just thinking about it. I had to go in for a morning at work the day we were leaving, and I still have no idea how I managed to sit there and hammer out a story. I don’t even know where to begin. First trip to Egypt (there will definitely be more to come – I was already planning what to do the second time around halfway through the trip), first time in Africa, first time Gareth and I were going on an intercontinental trip together, first glimpse of the Pyramids up close, first ascent/descent into them – it was just an all-round amazing trip which made for a most memorable 36th birthday (honestly, what a way to mark my third zodiac cycle).

And now more firsts await – all the terribly domesticated, middle-class DIY around the house for starters (three blinds went up this weekend). We’re going to have two couples stay with us within the same week next month. Both my best friend and cousin (and their hubbies) will be visiting AND staying with us for the first time. For Priya, it’s an double first – it’s her maiden trip to Europe, never having been in this part of the world before. Can’t wait. It’s going to be fantastic. Bet you a few more firsts are in store.

Factoids of the Week:
The West Lake restaurant in Changsha, China is the biggest Chinese restaurant in the world. It serves 3500 ducks, three tonnes of fish and seats 5000 diners.

Fife Council runs 1800 vehicles which consume five million litres of petrol annually.

The largest residential development in Europe is Duloch Park, in Dunfermline’s Eastern Expansion. That’s right in our backyard.

Fife also has, geographically, Europe’s largest CCTV system, with 100 cameras covering 12 communities.