Sorry it’s been so quiet on here of late, it wasn’t an intentional lapse but we suddenly found ourselves quite busy. I will update the archives shortly so you can catch up on exactly what we have been doing but the big news of the moment is that we are engaged! I kind of knew it was coming as Jam had asked my dad for my hand while we were in Tenerife so when we got back the search for the ring began!
I was pretty sure I didn’t want diamonds as I was lucky enough to inherit a diamond ring a couple of years ago and so decided the stone for me should be a Sapphire. On the advice of a friend we headed up to the Jewellery quarter last weekend, what I was looking for was one beautiful Sapphire but a lot of the rings we saw included diamonds (the thought is that these make the blue of the sapphire stand out more) or had ‘diamond shoulders’ (diamonds around the band). We found one with diamonds around the band which I liked (although it was white gold rather than the platinum I had my heart set on) and thought this would be the one until one of the security guards on the street pointed us towards Wards, who also deal in precious stones. The lady behind the counter asked if any stood out and I made a bee line for a beautiful royal blue Sapphire, which unfortunately was £6,000 (Champagne tastes). My second choice however turned out to be within out budget and the lady showed me the different styles it could be set in (in platinum). There was sadly for the other ring no comparison, we bought Cyril and headed home for the week long wait for him to be set into a ring.
Like all good stories however there was a catch, I got a phone call from the jewellers on Thursday to say he might not be ready in time. The setting that had been made for him was too big and another would have to be made which may make the pick up date Monday rather than Sunday. Jam and I had really wanted him by Sat 31st of Jan as this was our 4 year anniversary so a bit of a significant date. We held our breath & the jewellers said they would phone us back the next day. That night I tried the best I could to deal with the disappointment, clearly there was no way he would be ready…so imagine my shock when they phoned back the next day to say he was! We were delighted. Jam starts a new job tomorrow so popped into town for a last moment haircut leaving me to wish him back soon so we could head off to Birmingham. We caught the 1.20 train and finally after all that anxiety we were on our way! Only there was one more hitch still to play out, we picked up Cyril, he was perfect, he was gorgeous, he was stowed safely in my bag & then headed into Birmingham to get some new shoes and shirts for Jam and some ceramic cookware for me. We got back to the station at 5pm to find there had been a landslide near Leamington Spa and there were no direct trains to Oxford we would have to go via London (a 3hr detour). Jam was planning on proposing that night in the restaurant we had our second date in, however at that time we were still on a train trying to get home. By the time we reached Oxford the restaurant was so full we could barely get in nevermind get a table. We finally found a place to eat nearby but it was so crowded that the proposal happened on the landing in our house. And in a way it doesn’t matter as despite the fact that we weren’t where we thought we’d be I was in a place I loved with the most beautiful ring and the perfect fiancée and really it doesn’t get much better than that!
