The other night as we were cleaning our teeth, I told Mr R my right nostril hurt.

Him: have you stuck something up it?

Me: Yes, an orange smartie.

Him: Really?

Me: No, of course not…………..I did once though.

And I told him how aged about seven, I’d gone to a party (possibly Katrina Cross’s) and the magic man (Mr McDowell, Dad of one of the big girls at school and the magic man everyone wanted at their party) had magiced golf balls out of peoples noses.  It was AMAZING.

And I thought probably my twin sisters (so young they were still sharing a cot at this point) would be equally impressed if I showed them.  Now, I loved Mr McDowell, but I know that magic was just tricks, not real magic, so I assumed that he’d somehow shoved those golf balls up peoples noses first without them realising, in order for them to ‘magically’ appear.

I did not have a golf ball (thank God, in retrospect), but… A ha!  I did have a small box of Smarties in my party bag.  The orange ones were my favourite, so it seemed only fitting to use that to wow the twins (I thought they were the best little people ever).

Before I walked into their bedroom, I stuck the orange Smartie up my nose and entered, ready to amaze.  But it tuned out I’d really shoved it up there. It wouldn’t come loose.

Oh God, I can still remember the panic.

And I had to tell Mum and Dad who…did not rush me to hospital.  No.

Once they had stopped laughing, they made me sit in the corner of the room with a hankie to wait for it to melt.

for some strange reason I must have gone to this party in my school uniform as this is the photographic evidence

Based on my hair, the party must have been quite an intense one 😂

Dad told me when I went hunting for the photographic evidence at their house that I was ‘quite distressed’.   I imagine I was…quite apart from the fact that I genuinely thought I might have a Smartie stuck up my nostril for the foreseeable future,  you only tended to get one orange one per small box.  What an absolute waste!

So, I told Mr R this story and there was a small pause before:

Him: I stuck a bit of fir tree up my nose once, when I was about the same age.

Me: Why?

Him: I think probably because I could.

Me: And what happened to it?

Him: I think it probably went up and back down my throat and I ate it.

So, there you go:  The same but different. 🙂

I’m pretty sure that this is not Mr R at the fir tree incident age but it is SO blimmin’ cute, I thought more people needed to see it because…that tie!  that tummy! that smile! that collar! and…oh lordy, that hair cut! 💜💜💜