Broken car

We went to Oxford yesterday to see a relative, his daughter and his grandson.

Positive things happened:

• We had a lovely chat & I got to know his daughter and to admire his golden headed 18 month old grandson - a potential engineer who was fascinated by our car's tyres
• We met my son and handed over what he'd forgotten to take back after Christmas
• I managed to retrieve my lost handbag from where I'd forgotten it in the Head of the River pub where we had afternoon coffeeWe went to a BCS lecture which turned out to be much more interesting than we'd anticipated
• I managed to retrieve my lost handbag from where I'd forgotten it in the Head of the River pub where we had afternoon coffee

Negative thing happened

Husband's car set its alarm when we parked it and when we came back it refused to open. Eventually three doors would open but not the driver's so he had to clamber over the passenger seat to get to drive it. Anyone who knows our garage space will work out his problems in parking the car in the garage, so he took it to get the central locking fixed. Mechanics looked at everything. And everything - well nearly everything - else is broke too, like brakes. It's going to cost a four figure sum to fix.

Proud to do what I do

Yesterday's experience made me proud of being a mother, a step mother, a twice happily married woman. I think I'll rewrite my business cards to announce these as my qualifications, along with my voluntary unpaid experience in the public sector. There were a couple of women yesterday who were a bit diffident about what they did. Unlike the majority they were not bankers or involved in finance. One insisted sternly "I don't do anything". With patience I found out that one had left banking and now runs her own bespoke jewellers, and another not only has raised a family but has worked as a magistrate for so long that she is on the advisory panel for recruiting new magistrates. And I met another recently through the schools appeal panel, who has been a local councillor for over twenty years, but insists "I do nothing." It is a sort of contrast with those who identify themselves by their career experience. I think I'll create a scrap book or a web pages of such women who do nothing.

E J H

mother, step-mother, wife

ex-Community Health Council member, school governor ..