He Tore A Hamstring Dot Mee Dot UK

Another Day in the Diary

I seem to return to the word ‘bittersweet’ at the moment. I used it to describe the feelings of West Indian cricket supporters on Tuesday, and it is a very accurate means of depicting today for me.

Essentially, Saturday July 3, 2010, is just another day. Friday July 3, 2009, was without a doubt one of the special days of my life. It was the day when Dani said yes to my rather haphazard, and somewhat comedic, proposal of marriage.

It was also the day on which Dani’s sister-in-law, Catherine, gave birth to her first-born, who was thus Dani’s first nephew. Kieron is therefore 1 year old today, and I am delighted to say that Uncle Ro actually got his size right with his Wimbledon Baby Shirt … good job that the lovely lady in the shop said that although it says 18-24 months on the label, you can take a few off that!

Many of you will of course know that Dani only had a period of 4 months during which she could dote on her baby nephew, before her tragic death on November 18th, 2009. During that time, nobody that knew her would be surprised to know that she spoilt him silly, and he still wakes every morning with a picture of his aunt on the shelf close to him.

It is difficult to really understand, let alone express my emotions today. Effectively, there is part of me that just tries not to acknowledge the day’s significance. It is after all just another of many significant dates in the calendar, and if all of these are acknowledged, where does anyone begin the process of moving forward?

Dani’s Birthday and the anniversary of her death are probably the most significant dates that we have to encounter. However, that would be to approach this from a cold and mechanical perspective, and human emotion doesn’t lend itself to this. Our very nature means that key dates and events will always manifest themselves with a very complex fusion of wonderful memories and poignant regret.

As ever, I am perpetually grateful for the immense, prolonged and continued support that I receive from friends, family and colleagues. I actually find that it is at times like today that you realise not only who your friends are, but most pointedly which of your acquaintances really are not.

Even today, on what has been a difficult day, I am lifted by the tremendous warmth and friendship shown by many, some of whom I hardly know. I refer back to all of the support from my friends and family, and also those at St Martin’s Church.

I am even more grateful for the friendship of those with whom I speak on Twitter, and they are the ones who really have no reason to be so very generous. Social Media has, however, given me the avenues for some very special friendships. I do feel the need to name and embarrass a few people at this juncture, whilst apologising to anyone that I have omitted, who may have sent kind messages today.

They are Gemma Boyle, Jane Prinsep, Cat Inglis and Nikki Bailey. You are all very special and your friendship greatly appreciated. In terms of Nikki, congratulations to her on completing her Race For Life today – please still feel free to sponsor her by visiting her Fundraising Page.

So it is another day in the record books. History will tell us that Serena Williams won her fourth Wimbledon title, and that the Germans made an English nation feel much better about themselves by destroying Diego Maradona’s Argentinians by even more than they thumped England last Sunday!

For me personally, it has been a day of poignancy and no little reflection, made that bit more bearable by the special friendship of those around me.