May

[Sweder]

Quick update: the Rowdies claimed their tenth Premiership, Ryan Giggs sealing the deal and claiming his own tenth winners' medal to boot. As I've mentioned before his autobiography is refreshingly unremarkable; just a genuinely lovely bloke who loves his Mum and his Nan and is, by any definition of the word, a worthy winner.

Of more import at Chez Sweder was the outcome of the coveted Parent and Child competition at the Finesse School of Dance Fun Day. Having recovered from a sever cooking along the seafront I donned my outfit (laid out for me by daughter number one with a hand-written note which in esscence told me that she loved me for doing this) and head for the dance floor. Competition was tough with twenty pairs starting. We made the first cut, into the semi's, where we faced a lad who had gone the whole hog and struggled into a girls' latin outfit to dance with his girlfriends' daughter, plus the head teacher of the school - herself an award-winning dancer - and her talented daughter.

Straight into the semi when I probably gave my most coherent performance and sure enough we squeaked into the final where we placed second behind the head teacher but ahead of the bloke in the dress. I achieved my own personal goal - not to tread on/ collide with/ injure anyone else (or myself).

In the serious awards Phoebe passed her Gold Star 4 (an IDTA accredited examination taken back in the springtime blizzards) with honours, the highest accolade. I took a slow look around the packed dance hall and I can tell you that no parent, male or female, had their chest more puffed out than I.

[SIZE="1"]Mrs S took the Video Recorder from me before the Parent and Child heats. I told her I'd filled the memory with footage of Phoebe in competition and she swallowed it - hook, line and selfish sinker. Sorry.[/SIZE]

PS: In the aftermath of all that I cracked not only a bottle of Timothy Taylor's AND a bottle of Breakspear Oxford Gold. We're off out to dinner at the Rainbow where I'll sink at least a couple of pints of Best.
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