It's now been roughly 9 months since I last spoke to Amanda. I bumped into her outside the village shop (it all goes on there). She asked if I would drop by and have a look at some work that still needed to be done.
I went around that night and she introduced me to her then partner Chris. He was a white collar worker at a Warburtons factory, and to be honest a very decent guy. I looked around bouncing some ideas off them, i thought some skirting board in the kitchen and living room might be nice!
Off and on over the next few weeks I helped Chris do some work on the house, as money was getting tight for Amanda, I did the jobs for free (soft touch I know). The builders had made such a mess, it cost more money than expected to get someone else and have existing work put right. After a while I noticed that Chris had stopped staying there. Amanda told me they had split up and were from "two totally different ponds" with Chris (I was told), going back to his ex. I kept getting asked by Amanda to do bit's and peaces.
It became a regular thing, to finish work and go around there to do bits of work before going home. At this point I was just happy to help, I had no commitments and could see what I was doing was making a difference. Amanda would cook me some tea with theirs, mostly bacon & egg sandwiches (with the odd glass of wine thrown in) as she was always running late.
It sounds stupid to say but, I do have very fond memory's of those early days. I loved the vibe in her house, her two children were (and still are) confident and chatty. Amanda had them both in the pony club, and would be away doing something horsey almost every night, come wind or rain they were saddled up, always proud sat on their horses.
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