Long before David and I were legally 'married', before even we we able to become 'Civil Partners', we had to decide what date to fix as our 'anniversary'. As gays, the choice was not, I'm afraid, noted for its subtlety!
After a few months of celibate dating – I had decided the time had come to move things along! Living at home with my parents precluded that option as a venue, and I ruled out David's flat as it was still very much the home that he had shared with his late partner and I wanted 'neutral territory'.
In those days, back in 1990, I was still gainfully employed as One of the Voices of the BBC, and was earning a quite healthy living –– oh, if only I'd known then how transient success could be! –– so I simply booked a room at The Savoy Hotel (Room # 234, costing, I note, £180 a night) and invited David to dinner at The Savoy Grill with the instruction (again, scarcely subtle!): "Bring a toothbrush!"
After a long evening and a short night, David had to rush off to his teaching job in South East London –– but not before giving me a wonderful present: the key to the door of his London flat. I lingered over my Savoy breakfast contemplating the fact that my life had dramatically turned a corner...
That was thirty-one years ago, today, and... well... d'you know what...? I think it was, without question, the best £180 I ever spent!
With anniversary love to my now Husband.
Here we are together as photographed, in 2019, by Tobias Eckrich.
1 comment:
Happy anniversary!
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