Sunshine, directions and misquotes

I woke ridiculously early this morning, which I do on a daily basis. At 6.34a.m. I peered at my bedside clock and sighed with resigned acceptance that my day was beginning whether I liked it or not, which frankly I didn't, given that I have a Ben-free weekend and the after-effects of the wine I had consumed last night was now manifesting in a way I wasn't happy with.

We had attended the annual grand banquet of a local professional body (as a guest rather than a member I'd like to offer more information, but if I did I'd be making it up) The guest speaker was Sir Ranulph Fiennes who, it has to be said, probably has more hair-raising moments eating his weetabix in the morning than I ever, ever want to experience. Ever.

Everyone sat enraptured by his speech, as was I, yet I have to admit a part of me wanted desperately to know why any sane person would want to do any of it. My fellow diner Louise lent over to me at one point and remarked how supportive his wife was opening the books for him to sign at the end, adding "and then I realised he has no fingers left to do it himself".......

Of course, it would never do for us all to be cut of the same cloth; I more of a "built for comfort, not for speed" kind of girl. I think to be fair I always was; the terms "back-packing" and "camping" have never held any special allure for me, given my taste for champagne and five-star hotels complete with their marble-lined bathrooms.

So, despite the shaky start this morning I was fairly certain the day was going to be special. A glimpse at the blue sky through the blind promised a beautiful day; my friend Ruth had stayed the night so we resumed our gossip-fest over bacon sandwiches and tea.

Ruth and her family came to this country around five years ago after being thrown off their farm in Zimbabwe. To hear her speak of it makes you realise that the word "crisis" is woefully overplayed these days. She is a straight-forward, no nonsense girl; her ability to take control of a terrible situation and transform it is quite breathtaking. Let me give a minor example; when she arrived yesterday after driving up from Burton on Trent she was covered in oily marks. She'd had a problem with the car on the way up so had pulled over to sort it out.

Hats off, girl. I would have been anxiously looking for an unsuspecting man to help (have you any idea how difficult it is to get oil from under your fingernails?)

Then it occurred to me that Ruth had mentioned last night having a stove in her car...... In a rather bemused fashion I asked for confirmation; she gave it. She had brought it with her as the recent winner of said stove on Ebay lived near Louth (around fifteen miles away). It was, thankfully, a stove top, rather than the full item.

During a conversation on her mobile phone with the stove winner, she asks me if she can leave it with me for him to collect. Of course, no problem. I speak to Randy (the winner) and direct him to my house. Randy is from Birmingham and he knows the big old house in my village that used to be an antiques shop; this makes directions a piece of madeira. He will be there between twelve and one.

Ruth leaves and I embark on my weekly mammoth vacuuming expedition, trying to reignite the adventurous spirit that "Sir Ran" talked of last night as I scaled the stairs.

A little before one o'clock there is a knock at the door; it's Randy. I open it and see him stood before me, looking exactly as I expected him to look. He is around five foot ten, slim, happy eyes and coffee skin.

To say the next hour was a revelation would be an understatement; we talked of life and it's idiosyncrasies, we talked of aspirations, hopes, fears and love.

He told me of his ex partner Jeff, we talked about being single and of being a parent. Randy is sunshine in human form.

Every so often you gel with someone so instantly that it knocks you off your feet; today was such a day for me. An already beautiful day was now glorious.

Randy told about his gift to heal people, and of a fairly insignificant yet charming thing he said he was sure would occur to me in the near future. When it happens I am to call Ruth and ask her to confirm it to him, then he will get back in touch with me.

I'm confident it will happen. I know it will.

Yesterday Doug, one of my business contacts and someone else full of sunshine, told me that he liked a quote I had recently posted on my online profile, "it's true, women want to be loved, not understood. Amen to that" he laughed.

Actually the quote was from Oscar Wilde and it goes "women are made to be loved, not understood".

I think I like Doug's version better. Sometimes misquotes head in the very direction they should, into the sunshine.