The End of Innocence...!

Ah well.  It finally had to happen.  My little lovely niece grew up last week and became a legal adult.  18 years ago (and nine months as it happens) my sister broke the news that she was about to bring another life into the world.  My brother and other sister had previously done the baby thang, but Fi was my contemporary, whereas the others were a decade above us.  So it felt a bit more special.  I still have a grainy VHS recording of Fiona telling our (now departed) Uncle Mike the news.  "I don't care what it is, as long as it's healthy."  Well it - she -  was healthy and I felt a heavy dose of family bonhomie when she came into the world! A lovely sweet girl who I probably had more to do with than my other lovely, sweet nephews and nieces.

Imagine my shock then, when as we sit having a birthday lunch at the Bluebell Cider House in Earlswood - her ex-school chums work there - that she wants a pub crawl to celebrate her 18th!  I'm horrified.  We'd had a bottle of champagne, as you might to celebrate such an occasion. So in horror, I ordered another one.  Niecy said we should move to her boyfiends local.  Good grief.  To minimise the shock of that, I ordered yet another bottle of bubbly.  My neice seemed to be drinking mainly orange juice in spite of the occasion, so in horror I ordered another couple of pints.  Then a chum of my niece turned up, to ferry us to the boyfriends pub.  Can you imagine!  Drive.  In a car.  I know her friend had not had a drink and in fact did not all night, but I still found myself reaching for another pint, just to get me through the shock.  Eventually we arrived at the boyfri

ends pub in Solihull.  I started taking pictures for this blog, although they were not very good, so boyfriend said we needed a couple of shots to help.  Then I found a bench in the pub garden had been dedicated to a local who had died tragically young, so to get us through that, me and boyfriend had another shot.  

My sister seemed concerned about something.  It might have been the fact I'm moving to London yet running Maveric

k in Birmingham.  I'm not quite sure.  So I had a few drinks while I thought about it.  It was a jolly night, but then, for some strange reason I became concerned that my niece had been over drinking. I'm sure I'd seen her have one or two drinks although she seemed remarkably sober.  I think.  But she obviously was not sober, because suddenly there were two of her.  And they were both swaying.  Such a shame.  Her 18th and all. At some point she was hanging on to me while I told her how much I loved her and how proud I was of her and then a bit later my niece and my sister almost fell over me and making my legs go rubbery having called me a taxi and trying to get in it with me I think although I can't be too sure and anyway where had they all gone and what time is it now ooooo look at the lovely coloured lights and remember l

ovely niece and sister and boyfriend and your lovely friends drink responsibly co uk www or wwwhatever time i got home i have no idea oooo i could murder a bag of chips but no chance where do i live? oh yes here.  hear.  no here.  i love my family i do. wheres my girlfriend?  oh yes london.  i'll phone her.  what does a phone look like nowadays.

The next day I felt quite ill.  It must have been something I ate.  My niece was fine, apparently. But tsk, tsk, I despair at the folly of youth and their binge drinking, as reported regularly in the Daily Mail, for instance.  Have you any stories to share about the irresponsibility of youth?  Please comment below.  I really really need to hear your sad and sorry tales too.

Above: Raging, drunken young people looking at me with some concern.