Engaging Times

Me and Layla are now engaged. There you go. Its not like I haven't been engaged before, but those times involved me being on the phone while someone else was calling and so was apparently very different. That also involved a ring, but it being a ringtone means it wasn't as expensive and I can't imagine Layla would have been chuffed with me asking for her hand in marriage whilst handing over a voucher to get a free Crazy Frog download. So no, this time it was all proper. Or to sum it up, I liked it so I put a ring on it. There shall be no Beyonce dancing here. We are currently in a lovely little boutique hotel in somewhere called Horningsham, where I whisked Layla away to to do the deed. I was a little worried as anywhere with 'sham' as the last few words is a tad suspicious. Turns out though that its bloody lovely, despite the odd mad mooing cow nearby. I drove us up yesterday with only 6 people knowing where we were going (one being her dad, who I asked 'for permission' which is singularly far scarier a task than any gig ever), and when we got here they'd put champagne and flowers in the room. If I was a star, I'd be a casa Nova. Boom. Anyway, there was a proper ring and everything. For women: Its a big amethyst stone on a white gold ring. For men: Its round and that. I won't blog all the details as part of the going away somewhere remote was exactly that. I figured that I stand in front of people and blabber all the time anyway so for once we'd just go somewhere for us two. And of course she said yes. As I said in texts to my close friends yesterday, it was more the asking that was a surprise to people than the answer. So now we are fiance and fiance and all grown up and all that. So far to celebrate, we ate a lot of very nice food and then pranced around in the best dressing gowns ever whilst laughing every time the nearby mad cow mooed too loudly. If this is the engaged life, I am rather pleased with it.


Today's ventures include a trip to Longleat safari park which we have both seen on Animal Park loads of times and are a bit excited about. We are going to see the lions and hippos and rhinos and especially the really really sad lonely gorilla Nico that sits on Gorilla Island all by himself since his partner died. We have been discussing ways to cheer him up when we visit. All of which have been deemed to dangerous by the guides and we will probably just wave a bit while he stares at us wishing he was dead. Still, its something. I'm very worried about driving round. What if a lion walks in front of the car? Do I have to drive within the lions? How does it work? Do I get bonus points if I hit a hippo? So many questions, so little time.


Anyway, I shan't blog long. I've just made the promise that when we do sort out the our wedding date that I won't twitter or facebook at all on the big day. I've told Layla that I will have to blog though. Its the rules. There was a small sigh from her and I feel with it we have truly cemented our relationship together. Now all I need to do is sit on a sofa, demand dinner, watch football and fart a lot and I will be a proper husband to be.


Just as a footnote, ta to all the people who have said lovely things on FB, Twitter and other mediums. No carrier pigeons yet but I'm holding out hope. We are both very bloody happy indeed. Now off to shout at giraffes. Toodle-pip.