2014, Frome, Somerset, UK
"Bad news. Underlined. John thinks I fancy him. I hate his guts, the bleed. Where did he geet the crashing idiotic idea that I even liked him? I hate him. <laugh> I mainly hate him because he laughed at me when I tripped over in my Spice Girl platforms." Um, it was around this time, the Wiltons first came to my attention. I must have been about 12 years old. My sister Susie came back from the swimming pool in tears as a mean boy called Chris Wilton. <laugh> said she had a moustache. In Chris's defence, he didn't say it directly to her. He actually told it to someone else who repeated it, and he was right because she did have a mosutache.
Spending the next five years at boarding school, I didn't hear much more. However, returning to Frome in sixth form. I saw Nick around college a few times. I say 'saw' as I never 'met him. I just knew who he was, that he was in a band and he was popular and that he would never, ever want to go out with me.. Five years later after we've been on a few dates, I searched through my year 12 diary convinced I'd written about him a handful full of times. Unfortunately, the only diary entry I can pinpoint to him is one that reads: 'loads of awful stuff has been happening, but I don't want to write it down. '
Uh, university over in 2007, Susie introduced me properly to Nick. I just graduated and I was unemployed. Nick was a student with one year of university behind him. I remember taking Nick back to Buckington, where we had kitchen units in the living room, an oven in the garden and cats running around weeing in the corners.
Despite this mum was concerned that Nick didn't have much to offer me. Thankfully, Nick, won everyone over as always does by being so charming and friendly. And also according to my friends and sisters, by just being really, really good looking. Susie stopped fanciying him a long time ago, when she realised, as she confided in me, he actually wasn't that cool. <laugh>
I was really delighted to be going out with Nick. I felt like a Z list celebrity as we spent our first day being stopped by so many people at Frome wanting to talk to him. He even got bought champagne <laugh> As it turned out, this was a complete one off and the other days were fairly [unremarkable] [inaudible.]
<laugh>.
Um, I knew I made it in Frome when a complete stranger tried to chat me up near the Blue Boar and was told by his friend 'Don't bother mate. She's with an operationer.
<laugh>
I had arrived. After seven years in Frome. We've made it to today. Nick, thank you for helping me to be more confident. Being patient and understanding with me and teaching me to look at things in a more positive way. Since I first met you, you've always seemed to be known and liked by everyone in Frome. And it's true that you put a lot of time and effort into all your relationships and you deserve to be as loved as you are. And I've even benefited from being able to steal some of your friends. And I'm very lucky to have met you. Frome is a small place and no offence, but there aren't really that many good boys to choose from. <laugh>
I'd always like take the opportunity to thank Nick's wonderful family who have always been so welcoming and supportive. Having John and Jackie down the road has been having like a second set of parents, and Nick's brother and Jen, his grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins are all very important to me. And it's love to see so many who we are here today to celebrate the last seven years of Nick and what is to come.
So I'm gonna stop now cause I'm the awkward one. Um, but thank you all. And I'd just like to pose a toast to a beautiful, talented musician who is the love of my life, um, to Taylor Hunt everybody!