R's rue

24/10/81 or as those crazy Americans would record it - 10/24/81. Yes my friends, on this very day exactly forty five years ago, I married my sweetheart Shirley in St Martin's Church, Owston Ferry, Lincolnshire. It was the happiest day of my life. On that day, we could have never imagined that we would still be together forty five years later. Two children. Two ectopic pregnancies. Three grandchildren. Memorable holidays, thousands of meals and the comforting rhythm of ordinary days passing by. Ups and downs. Together. Today, to celebrate, we went out to a local restaurant for a three course prix fixe lunch with glasses of New Zealand sauvignon blanc. The french onion soup they served as a starter was the best I have ever had - savoury and thick with slow-cooked onion slices and crispy onions on top with a slice of toasted rye bread with cheddar cheese beside the bowl. Back home, to mark our anniversary in a special way, I continued pulling up the old carpeting from our staircase, t...