My stomach bug appears, at last, to have cleared my system, though strangely I am still struggling to get hungry. I am at Diane’s this week house sitting and cat feeding, and whilst cats aren’t my favourite mammal, these two are incredibly easy to satisfy, and are not hard work. It’s not like looking after a dog for example, they are incredibly clean, and don’t need too much attention bar the odd stroke.

Anyway, looking at my blog today, I realised that it is now two years before I started my blog of independence after the breakdown of my marriage, and what an incredible two years it has been really, not what I would have predicted three years ago, but hey, that is the challenge life throws at all of us at sometimes, so those of you who are complacent, or dare I say it smug, keep a good check on yourselves, life can bite you in the arse sometimes.

Dealing with life changes chucks up all sorts of challenges at you, and I must say that living in a hovel of a house for a year was frankly depressing, though it has made me appreciate the improvement in my quality of life since, and the backing I have received from my girlfriend, and my friends both new and old, who have been there and not judged me. These are people who know my faults as well as my strengths, but know me as who I am, and don’t care about what others think, people like Stewart, Peter and Trevor, lads I see at football like Mark, Dave and Del, the members of Oakley Cricket Club, my fantastic and hilarious kids, and the people of Broughton, they are all stars.

If anyone reading this blog is at where I was two years ago, I promise you your life will get better and better. I have spent days in soulless solicitors offices, in magistrates courts wondering where my life is going, and lied in bed unable to sleep through fear of the unknown, but I promise you I am better for it, and happy, really happy. I see my kids whenever I want, I have a fantastic social life, and as for money, I couldn’t give a flying fuck. I am skint, so what, I have a little house and two healthy kids, some people would pay millions for that.

So here is a big thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way, and at times put up with me, especially Diane who by some sort of fluke, is both lovely, and happens to live in the part of Hampshire I have always loved, and lets not forget Pete, who I go out with most Friday’s, he has heard it all and yet his is still there, maybe he just struggles to find anyone else to go out with. Maybe fortune does favour the righteous in the end. This is the song that kept me going in my darkest moments, some people think it is depressing, it is not it is uplifting. Click here