If I could have a wish ...

If I could have a wish ... I'm afraid I wouldn't wish for world peace or an end to poverty. As I have said many times in this little blog of mine, I am really rather shallow, and I feel its only right to continue this theme. If I could have one wish granted I wish ... I wish I could sing.

Don't get me wrong, I can sing, in an ordinary mumsy kind of a way, but its nothing special. I sang in my staff choir this afternoon and had a moment of cowardice which I regret, but it comes of a lack of confidence ( completely justified lack of confidence ) in my ability.

Our choirmaster asked if I would step in and fill the gap when one of a duet had to drop out because her voice was croaky. I'm afraid I said no and suggested my friend instead.

How wonderful would it be to actually have a voice that would soar, a voice that I could be confident of, a voice that would make me confident to step forward and sing my heart out.

To hell with world peace. I want to be able to sing. I want to open my mouth and have the voice of Adele or Aretha Franklyn or Etta James ...

My husband has sung in a band recently and I have been so proud of him. When I told him and the other band members that I would love to sing they offered me the chance to try out. I turned chicken immediately! This is not through some sort of false modesty. I really don't have a strong enough voice to stand up and sing. In my dreams I do, in the car by myself I do, but other than being part of a choir ... I don't.

So ... if there are any genies out there ... any fairy godmothers ... please can I have a wish? Please can I sing with a voice that soars to the rafters, a voice that is rich with soul and strength ... ?

No?? Doh.

An Osprey bag, madam?? No thanks - I am far too pure and selfless...

To buy or not to buy an expensive handbag... This is how shallow my life has become. I always knew that I was easily tempted by lovely things, but in the last couple of days I have sunk to an all time low... or shallow, depending on how you look at it.

It started when I ventured into a local boutique that sells posh handbags - Osprey to be exact.Their sale was on and I was drawn in by the scent of luxury leather and incense sticks. I browsed around the various goods on offer and although I was tempted I did not weaken enough to buy anything.

When I got home, however, my husband revealed that he had gone and bought himself a new bike. A new bike??? Is he mad??? Its mid January, he doesn't cycle and works in central London. In a blatant tit for tat move I immediately thought 'If he can get a bike, why don't I get a posh handbag?!'

I might have actually said these words out loud for , give him his due, he did offer to buy me one of the gorgeous things. Maybe its because I am a woman or maybe because material things don't really mean that much to me, I said no to his offer.

There may be those of you who are screaming at the screen 'You fool!!! You could have had a lovely piece of gorgeousness!!!' But I just could not bring myself to submit to the greed of it all. I have a bag... well, several bags really, of varying ages and qualities and do I need a new one, all be it a dead expensive, posh one? No. The answer is definitely no.

Ah well. At least I can now sleep easy in my bed, safe in the knowledge that I am not as shallow as I first thought.

Friends reunited.

On Saturday I am meeting up with 3 girls I knew at University. We shared a dorm or should I say our rooms were off the same corridor in our halls of residence in our first year.Two of them were medical students, the other did... economics I think.I haven't seen the two med students for 24 years. The other girl I ran into in a campsite restaurant in the Dordogne a couple of years ago.

So.... it will be strange to see them again. One of them sent me some photos of her and her family and she really has not changed - maybe a few more lines, but I would have recognised her straight away in the street.My campsite friend looks the same too. I wonder what the third one will be like? Part of me is looking forward to seeing them.Part of me thinks that there is always a reason you don't keep in touch with people...

Still, I am old enough and relaxed enough to enjoy the day out without feeling pressured to become bosom buddies again.Not that there will be any pressure.I think we are all just a little curious to see how we turned out.

So.... what do I wear? Do I go comfy, in jeans and a sweater? Or chic in a little dress and boots? Do I bejewel or stay simple? You know what women are like... even though you are trying to be nice and genuine and good, you cannot help but look at the other girls' shoes, bag, nails, jewellery. Not that I will judge....much.....God... how shallow am I?? Oh, yes, that's right.... very.