Dexys to Sexys
Beginning of 2020....I was stuck in a failing, debacle, sham of a marriage that was going nowhere very swiftly and had been for some time. (background :- my second marriage, my now ex-wife’s third marriage.....not really sure why we both entered into the marriage...I think we both wanted to be wanted)
I was home alone on a Saturday night, listening to records & drinking exotic beers, when my Instagram “fed” some algorithms to me. Hello ! What is this ? Some absolutely beautiful “music stars” portraits made in textiles...I was intrigued & had to investigate. I was blown away by the skills of the artist...and was even more impressed with the actual creator....very easy on the eye !
I’m a cheeky bastard, so decided to drop her a message, complimenting her on her work & chatting about what music I was listening to on a Saturday night. She replied fairly swiftly & was suitably impressed that I had a full collection of Dexys Midnight Runners...turns out she was a big fan too (what are the chances ?) We exchanged a few music related messages....and built up a rapport.
And then lockdown...boom !
I was off work for a short period (which only exasperated the already fractious marriage. Whilst bumbling about in my workshop (I restore vintage motorcycles/scooters as a hobby) I came across some old denim fabric off cuts that I had saved, not sure why ? I thought “I could post these to J (the textile artist) and maybe she could use them in one of her pieces ? I messaged her & asked for her address....and promptly posted the fabric to her.....
She was most impressed with my hand writing and the fact that a man would have the thought process to do this kind thing.....
From then on, we messaged more regularly & it eventually progressed to the first “tentative” phonecall....we were on the phone for three hours !
Turns out we had so much in common...music, fashion, culture, an interest in history, children of similar age....it was all a bit too perfect.....we were getting along famously....BUT there was a 160 mile gap between us..and my shonky marriage to deal with.....
Wait a second !! Hallelujah....my wife asks for a divorce ! This was not unexpected & to be honest, it should have been on the cards about three years earlier....we had been living fairly separate lives for quite awhile.
As the “friendship” between J and I progressed (messenger, text etc) the similarities between us just couldn’t be ignored & I thought....”umm, trip to the seaside is required here”....and guess what ? Boris gifted us a “gap” between lockdowns !! I asked Jane if she fancied a little overnight in Scarborough ! She accepted....and we had such a beautiful weekend..we laughed, we danced, we looked at interesting buildings and had some very nice sexy times ! And that was the first date....
We have since spent Christmas & New Year together. I’ve met her children & they are made up that their mama has met her “soulmate”. My divorce is virtually finalised & I have bought my own place....
I have gained a beautiful soulmate, her dog Fred & her two daughters & she now has a “step son” and my two grandsons....
We are planning on (hopefully ?) to sell our respective houses at some point & setting up home together...it is a meeting of minds that happened completely unexpectedly & it needs to be acted upon !
The denim off cuts...are now part of a portrait of Kevin Rowland (the lead singer of Dexys...the band that created our bond together !)...and she has said it will never get sold because of it’s poignancy.
We have both dealt with some “crap” in our lives and neither of us were prepared to procrastinate over whether this was right/wrong....we both knew it was right.
There you go, a story of weird lockdown love, formed out of a mutual love of an 80’s band, vinyl records & fabric off cuts...we have a saying between us now “it started with Dexys and ended up with Sexys”